Ice Storm — Northwest Middlesex County, Massachusetts

2008-12-11 to 2008-12-12 · Northwest Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Event narrative

Three-quarters of an inch of ice accumulated on exposed surfaces across northwest Middlesex County. Trees and large limbs were downed in Groton and Pepperell blocking many roads.

Wider weather episode

A cold frontal boundary dropped south of New England on the evening of the 10th. Low pressure developed along the frontal boundary across the southeastern states late on the night of the 10th into the 11th. The low then tracked rapidly to the northeast, spreading a significant amount of precipitation into New England. A deep layer of warm air aloft and sub-freezing air at the surface resulted in a major ice storm across interior Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire as well as much of northern New England.

The hardest hit areas in southern New England were the Monadnock region of southwest New Hampshire, the Worcester Hills in central Massachusetts, and the east slopes of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Anywhere from half an inch to an inch of ice accreted on many exposed surfaces. Especially when combined with breezy conditions, the ice downed numerous trees, branches, and power lines which resulted in widespread power outages. More than 300,000 customers were reportedly without power in Massachusetts and an additional 300,000 were without power in the state of New Hampshire. Because of the breadth of this storm (from Pennsylvania to Maine), extra crews to reinstate power were harder to come by. Power crews from states as far away as South Carolina, as well as local National Guard teams, were called out to help with power restoration and clean up. While most people had their power restored within a week, others were still without power at Christmas (nearly 2 weeks later). During this period, temperatures were mostly below normal and at least one major snowstorm affected the same area. At the time of the December 19th snowstorm, over 100,000 customers were still without power in the two states combined. Most communities had opened shelters to provide a warm, safe place for residents. According to the numbers reported in local newspapers, most did not take advantage of this opportunity and chose to remain in their homes, using wood stoves or generators for heat. Many schools, a week and a half from the winter holiday break at the time of the storm, cancelled school for the remainder of the month because of a lack of electricity and clear routes for transporting students.

A public works employee, supervising storm clean up in Marlborough, went missing during his shift and was found dead two days later in a reservoir. Because this occurred as a part of his job, following the storm, it was considered an indirect fatality. Damage to the infrastructure in Massachusetts and New Hampshire amounted to roughly eighty million dollars. This amount does not include damage to private property, which was unavailable at the time of this report. The extent of the damage and number of people affected prompted the governors of both Massachusetts and New Hampshire to request federal assistance. FEMA approved both requests. President Bush issued a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance for seven Massachusetts counties and all of New Hampshire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 146816. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.