Storm causes fender benders, scattered power outages
(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)
It was a slushy walk home for Elizabeth Pitts and her grandmother, Marina, near Spy Pond in Arlington.
By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, and Michele Richinick, Globe Correspondent
A storm dumped a sloppy mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain on Massachusetts today, prompting school closings or delays in scores of districts and spinouts and fender benders on the roads.
Rain and sleet continued this evening in central Massachusetts, but they were expected to turn to snow and taper off by midnight. Within Route 128, where a changeover to rain happened by the early afternoon, the rain is expected to peter out just after midnight, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson.
The storm caused scattered power outages as tree limbs and power lines crashed to the ground. National Grid reported about 1,900 outages this evening, while NStar reported 550. Western Massachusetts Electric reported one. Unitil, the electric company that drew flak for its response to a mid-December ice storm, said some homes had lost power but all were restored by 5:30 p.m.
State Police said they responded to numerous reports of minor accidents. In one serious accident, a woman received non-life-threatening injuries when she was hit by a truck on Interstate 190 northbound in Sterling. The woman stopped her van in the right lane, got out, and was hit by the tractor-trailer traveling in the left lane. She was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman, said it wasn't clear if weather had played a role in that crash.
In Kingston, a fire dispatcher said that snow was suspected as the culprit in the collapse of the roof of a warehouse. No injuries were reported.
The forecast for Thursday called for a breezy day in Boston with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 38 degrees. But Simpson said snow was again in the forecast for Saturday, and the storm could drop six inches of flakes in north central portions of the state.
Comment
Permalink
Email
I slid the sleet,
the sleet I slid,
and on the sleeted street I sit.
You spelt TewKsbury wrong!
"The outages, however, should not be widespread as the powerful storm that hit last month, causing more than 1 million people in New England to loose power."
Ugh. 'Loose' = not tight. It is should be lose. C'mon Globe!
"causing more than 1 million people in New England to loose power."
Yes, very unfortunate... mine was loose for 60 hours. ;)
I'm so glad I didn't 'loose power' during that last storm!! hahahaha.... where are all the editers? (hehe)
I believe that stopping distances on ice are increased NOT diminshed; i.e., one needs more time/distance to stop not less.
That's it I'm getting the hell out of this city for the winter, Brazil Here I come! Thank god I'm in The UKI right now,It;s cold here but not like Beantown.
"The outages, however, should not be AS widespread as the powerful storm..."
No, no problems other than North Cambridge was without power for four hours. No problems at all.
I see people are starting to get used to NE weather again. Excellent.
Yeah right, about the power outages. Our power in Cambridge has been out for the past 5 hours now...
uh, Sargeant Fossa needs to get his descriptions correct. Stopping distances are not diminished at all. Stopping ability is.
Totaled my car on 495, awesome road conditions. Spun twice across three lanes before finally getting hit head on. At least I'm alive to tell the story.
Got home 1 hour ago through 128. From exit 19 to exit 38 I counted 7 accidents where the police was still on site. Several other cars were on the side of the highway. Was stopped for 10 minutes in my exit because there was an accident there too. Finally arrived home, lost control of my car on the driveway and hit my other car. It's going to be a long night tonight for the police. I just wish nobody gets hurt.
John B...I'm picking up a Thermos for you! Not an ordinary thermos for you, One with red and white stripes and a cup built right in.
just food for thought...it rained all evening, the rain turned to mist, the temp was noted to drop. Didn't the powers that be think that maybe, just maybe the water might freeze on the ice cold pavement? Maybe the (the state, and the city and towns) should have sent crews out to salt and sand in a preemptive fashion? The fiasco last night on the roads was just negligence. If this was private industry, someone would be fired or at least held accountable. At least the legislation on the hill got to vote a raise for themselves since somehow in this ecomony the medium income has gone up...maybe they will lay off some road crews and public safety officials as a bonus
Questions to those in accidents on 495 due to the ice and negligence -- are your insurance companies surcharging you, or will you not be held at fault? Need help, advice, please! Thanks.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
INside Boston.com
arrive on the red carpet in LA
LOCAL BLOGS
Universal Hub
The Chinatown Blog
CommonWealth Magazine
Red Mass Group
Blue Mass Group
Boston 1775
The Berkeley Beacon
The Daily Collegian
The Daily Free Press
The Harvard Crimson
The Heights
The Huntington News
The Suffolk Voice
The Tech
The Tufts Daily