Travel Trouble: Storm Snarling Traffic on Roads, Impacting Flights in Mass.
At Boston Logan International Airport, where Massport officials had urged holiday travelers to arrive early, there was a long line for bag check and at TSA before sunrise
Tens of millions of Americans endured bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing about 60% of the U.S. population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning.
The Friday before Christmas is always a major travel day, but people hitting the roads and heading to the airport were dealing with major issues as a powerful storm was making it tough to get around.
There's now a second crash on 93N in #Woburn. That makes it 3 within the hour along that stretch from #Wilmington north. @MattNBCBoston says there's a lot of pooling on the roads from the rain. #NBC10Boston#NECN
NBC10 Boston
Massachusetts state officials work to clear water off a Storrow Drive on-ramp in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston/Stringer
A car and a falling tree collided in Wakefield, Massachusetts, early Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Handout
An unoccupied pickup truck in Salisbury, Massachusetts, was crushed by a shipping container amid high winds and downpours overnight, police said Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. They warned about dangerous driving conditions.
NBC10 Boston
A house in North Andover, Massachusetts, where a tree fell amid high winds on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Norton Police Department
In Norton, Massachusetts, winds knocked down the gazebo in the town square as well as trees onto roads amid a powerful storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston
A woman takes a picture of a wave crashing ashore on Winthrop, Massachusetts, amid a storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston
Waves crash ashore in Winthrop, Massachusetts, amid heavy flooding up and down the New England coast caused by an intense storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
WJAR-TV
Waves crash ashore at Narragansett, Rhode Island, amid a storm that was causing coastal flooding in New England on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Town of Barnstable
Flooding in Barnstable, Massachusetts, as a storm sent water surging across New England’s coast on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Several roads in Salisbury were washed out during Friday's storm.
This sea foam in Wells, Maine, was one of the wildest images to come out of Friday's storm.
Rain water washed out a portion of Nutes Road in Milton, New Hampshire.
Swasey Parkway in Exeter, New Hampshire, was completely underwater on Friday.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday.
Norton, MA Police
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Flooding Friday in Woods Hole, a neighborhood in Falmouth, MA.
Flooded roads in Provincetown.
Flooding in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Market Basket in North Andover, Mass., lost power Friday as shoppers ran out to grab last-minute Christmas groceries.
The overnight rain was too much for the North River in Salem, Mass., it spilled over onto Commercial Street, stranding at least four cars.
Vittorio George left an appointment at the courthouse in Salem and found his Cadillac SUV partially under water.
The wind was relentless in Portland, Maine, causing coastal flooding.
In the Merrimack Valley Friday evening, thousands of people were without power after the storm knocked out trees and utility poles, and took out power lines. National Grid says this was their hardest hit area.
Owen Thomas told NBC10 Boston’s John Moroney that he’s always wanted to kayak on Morrissey Boulevard. Thanks to Friday’s flooding, he was finally able to achieve his dream.
At Boston Logan International Airport, where Massport officials had urged holiday travelers to arrive early, there was a long line for bag check and at TSA before sunrise.
And there was no guarantee that their flights would even take off with the weather -- there were about 230 flight cancellations at Logan.
Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.
College student Adrianne Caracioni wasn't sure she would make it home to Kansas City for Christmas.
"I spent the night here, they put me on a flight this morning -- two flights, one to Detroit and then Detroit to Kansas City -- but the first one was expecting to take a little bit longer because of the weather and so I was going to miss my connection," she said, adding, "I'm just hoping to be able to make it in time for Christmas and be able to see my family.”
Power outages were being reported statewide in Massachusetts Friday morning as a major storm slammed the area.
Later Friday, temperatures are going to drop fast, and that's expected to bring travel conditions on the roads from bad to worse.
Public works officials in the region have said they have been staffing up and preparing for it but the heavy, windswept rain makes it hard to treat the roads before it freezes over. They were asking people not to drive, but if you have to go out, be careful and avoid backroads whenever possible.
"Once this weather turns, we'll get the crash-freezing, which will be a concern. I'm sure we'll get motor vehicle accidents out of that," said Carys Luftigs, Needham's director of public works.
