Heavy wind and rain forces road closures, power outages throughout MetroWest

Heavy winds and rain battered MetroWest and Greater Milford on Monday, causing power outages, road closures and even schools being shuttered.

At one point on Monday, more than 94% of Millis residents were without power, according to Eversource. As of 3:45 p.m., almost 92% (3,794) of residents were still without power.

Along with the power outages, a tree came down on one home, several wires were down, and several roads were closed in Millis.

"Millis has been hit pretty hard by the storm," said Police Chief Christopher Soffayer. "Currently, we have multiple road closures and detours in place. We are opening them as quickly as possible. However, we have power lines down, waiting for Eversource to get to all the locations. They are currently working in town."

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According to Daily News partner WCVB, peak wind gusts with heavy rain continued through early Monday afternoon. By the evening commute, there were a few lingering showers, but it was still windy.

Millis was not the only local community to be hit hard. Hopkinton had more than 1,700 power outages as of 4 p.m. Outages included Hopkinton High School, Hopkinton Middle School and the Hopkins Elementary School, Police Chief Joseph Bennett said.

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Because of that, all Hopkinton schools had an early release of noon, he said.

"We've had a significant amount of trees down," Bennett said. "We had one tree on a house, on Lumbar Street."

The house was structurally sound, and its residents were allowed to stay, although there was a hole in the roof, he said.

Portions of several roads in Framingham were closed due to downed wires or trees, according to Framingham police. They included portions of Badger Road, Grove Street, Michael Road, Potter Road and Salem End Road.

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There was also a lightning strike in the area of Route 9 at abouit 9 p.m. Sunday, according to Fire Chief Michael Dutcher.

"The only area affected was a large apartment complex, at 1640 Worcester Road," said Dutcher. "There was a power surge that caused multiple fire alarm devices to activate. Fortunately, we were able to determine no issues and reset the fire alarm system. No other buildings in the complex were affected. I’m not aware of any power loss."

Trees, wires down in Southborough, Holliston and Franklin

The Southborough Police Department said portions of Garrison Street were closed for part of the day due a tree coming down. Pine Hill Road was down to one lane for the same reason.

Holliston had several trees and wires down, closing portions of Prentice Street, Little Road and Winter Street.

Franklin also had the same issues, with portions of Daniels, Green, Lincoln, Oak Pleasant and Washington streets being closed due to storm damage.

Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said the town appeared to have fewer problems than others. As of 4 p.m., there were a little more than 600 customers without power, according to National Grid.

"Milford has been lucky thus far, some streets have wires down," Tusino said. "Some parts of town are without power. National Grid has crews out and are addressing the issues as they come up."

Due to the storm, Natick police called in extra officers.

"Currently, we have quite a few wires down and wind-related calls," said Deputy Police Chief Brian Lauzon. "We have increased staffing levels for both the day shifts and evening shifts to better accommodate the increased calls for service. Hopefully, people take their inflatable holiday decorations in."

Just beforev5 p.m. Monday, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced that utility wires were on the roadway blocking travel on Route 20 eastbound at the Interstate-95/Route 128 interchange on the Waltham-Weston line.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Power outages, roads closed after storm batters Framingham, Milford