Over 15,000 homes and businesses on Cape Cod were without power Thursday night as a spring nor’easter continued to batter Massachusetts with strong winds and heavy rain.
Over 17,200 electric customers across the state found themselves in the dark by 9:20 p.m., but Cape Cod homes and businesses made up the vast majority, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s (MEMA) power outage map.
At this time, the community with the largest number and percentage of customers without power was Bourne, according to MEMA’s map. Nearly 6,000 — or 46% of — homes and businesses in the town were in the dark.
Sandwich followed close behind with nearly 4,800 — or 44% of — customers without power, while Orleans had the third-most, with about 2,200 — or 36% of — homes and businesses in the dark, according to MEMA’s map.
Eversource, which supplies these towns with electricity, had not updated its power outage map with estimates of when power would be restored as of 9:40 p.m. The utility company was still evaluating the outages at that time.
Around 1 p.m. Thursday, National Weather Service forecasters reported that the coastal storm was intensifying over the ocean. They predicted that communities along the Massachusetts coast could see up to three inches of rain during the latter half of the day.
Forecasters expected that the Cape would experience the strongest winds during the storm, with gusts reaching up to 55 mph. The National Weather Service also issued flood advisories for the state’s coastal counties that are in effect until 11 p.m. Thursday.
Massachusetts residents across the state can expect to see the storm die down by Friday morning, according to forecasters.
