A storm making its way up the East Coast brought heavy rain and strong winds to Massachusetts on Monday, leaving flooded roads and downed wires in its wake.
Logan Airport grounded all planes from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. because of the weather. Flights are no longer grounded, but the lingering effects of that halt will continue to affect travelers throughout the day.
As of 6 p.m., a total of 223 flights into or out of Logan had been canceled and another 371 had been delayed, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration listed the average delay at Logan at more than five hours early in the day but down to an average 82-minute delay by 6 p.m.
At the peak of the storm this morning, the National Weather Service reported gusts up to 68 mph at the airport.
[11 AM] 68 mph wind gust at Logan airport in #Boston at 1053 AM! pic.twitter.com/A8ZrS9E7tk
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) December 18, 2023
The high winds have left 234,000 customers still without power as of 6 p.m., with the majority of outages concentrated on the South Shore.
In the coastal community of Scituate, 96% of people were without power. Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said repairs may take days because of the extent of the damage.
"We had multiple trees down, limbs down, wires down," Boudreau said Monday afternoon. "At the same time, National Grid had damage to feeder lines that feed Scituate."
Power issues also affected travel throughout New England. Amtrak halted service between Boston and Providence because of overhead power issues. The train operator resumed limited service, using only one track, around 3:30 p.m. and expects ongoing delays up to two hours.
The MBTA reported Commuter Rail service in Greater Boston is continuing to experience disruptions and delays as a result of weather impacts, including downed wires. Commuters can find alerts on the MBTA's Commuter Rail Alerts X account.
Thankfully, the forecast does provide relief. GBH News meteorologist Dave Epstein told Morning Edition that the heaviest rain and winds passed through the region Monday morning.
"By the time we get to about 1 o'clock [Monday], I think you'll start to notice the gusts — those extreme gusts — becoming less frequent. They'll have a chance to get the power back on slowly this afternoon as winds diminish," he explained. "And I think after 4 o'clock especially, winds will be down under 35 miles an hour."
The National Weather Service said showers will continue into Tuesday, followed by a long dry period with above-normal temperatures.
Diego Lopez contributed reporting.