450K Without Power; Winds Gust As High As 94 M.P.H.

More than 450,000 customers — almost entirely from the South Shore to the tip of the Cape — are without power after a wicked nor'easter blew through Massachusetts. The storm damage has forced schools to cancel or delay classes, impacted morning commutes and even forced a warning to stay off the roads.

More than two dozen communities have at least 80 percent of their power customers without power, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Some towns, like Hingham, Norwell, Abington and even on the North Shore like Hamilton and Essex, are 100 percent in the dark as of 8 a.m. In Plymouth alone, 26,900 customers are experiencing outages.

The National Weather Service is recommending people not travel in Southeastern Massachusetts, where winds have been gusting with hurricane-like strength. In Edgartown, a 94-mile-per-hour gust was recorded.

Forecasters said winds will continue gusting well over 50 m.p.h. even in the Boston area throughout the morning.

Power lines were strewn across communities south of Boston, but no storm-related injuries have been reported.

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