Updated: Tri-Town braves winter storm, coastal flooding

Dec 18, 2023

A winter storm that blew through the Tri-Town on Monday, Dec. 18 didn’t bring any snow, just wind and rain — lots of rain. 

From power outages and road closures in Rochester to coastal flooding in Marion and Mattapoisett, each town had its own issues caused by the late December storm.

The National Weather Service initially issued a storm warning early Monday morning that became a gale warning later in the afternoon. 

National Weather Service Meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said the average rainfall during yesterday’s storm was anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 inches. Marion, and by extension the Tri-Town, saw approximately 2.12 inches of rain. 

During the storm, Marion closed Old Landing, Island Wharf and Silvershell Beach due to flooding and Front Street from Eastern Bank to Ryder Lane was closed due to an “energized” power line, according to the Marion Police Department. As of Tuesday afternoon, Front Street has reopened, reported Marion police. 

In Mattapoisett, police vehicles blocked the entrance to the harbor during the height of the storm as water flooded Shipyard Park up to the first line of benches facing the sea. Much of the harbor’s parking lot was under water. Further along Water Street, toward Mattapoisett Town Hall, parcels of land, including Munroe Preserve, saw flooding caused by the storm. 

While landlocked Rochester did not deal with coastal flooding, the Rochester Police Department reported “numerous” downed trees and “substantial debris” in town roadways. 

According to a press release from Eversource, which services much of the Tri-Town, “fierce winds and heavy rains brought down trees and limbs that caused significant damage to the electric system and widespread power outages in most of Eastern Massachusetts.”

“We know the timing of this storm is terrible as people are trying to enjoy time off or prepare for the Christmas holiday,” said Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom in a press release. “We have hundreds of crews on the ground working but with outages being so widespread it will take some time, especially as we continue to take on damage and outages throughout the day, even after the storm passes because of the weakened state of trees and the saturated ground.”

High-speed and constant winds also contributed to damage caused by the storm, said Hallstrom. 

According to Dellicarpini, South Coast Massachusetts saw average wind gust speeds of approximately 60 and 70 miles per hour. 

“By the end of today, we’ll have about 600 crews on the ground,” said Hallstrom at a Tuesday morning press conference. “As of now we have about 45,000 customers out. It’s about 20,000 in our southern Plymouth area.”