Falmouth Grapples With Downed Trees, Closed Roads, Power Outages In Wake Of 'Bomb Cyclone' Storm
A strong fall storm left tens of thousands on the Upper Cape without power and caused significant tree damage, leaving Cape Cod with damp, dreary conditions expected to last through the weekend.
The storm started Tuesday night, October 26, bringing high winds and heavy rain. Falmouth meteorologist Doc Taylor said that this storm falls into a certain classification called a “bomb cyclone,” characterized by a steep drop in pressure of at least 24 millibars over 24 hours. This process is called bombogenesis.
“This thing developed off the coast and then comes back toward us, which is kind of unusual,” Mr. Taylor said. “That happened because the upper-level winds caught up with the surface low and stalled it. Then it sent it westward, kind of like the Perfect Storm 30 years ago, but we don’t have the same scenario. This one developed southeast of Nantucket pretty quickly, so it didn’t have that long-term fetch and we didn’t have the big waves [like] back 30 years ago.”
Mr. Taylor said he clocked peak winds of 77 mph at Menauhant Yacht Club on Wednesday. He said the storm swept in off the Atlantic, came across Plymouth and Barnstable counties and then moved across the Cape toward the Vineyard and part of eastern Rhode Island, which was hit with the strongest winds.
“The models did pretty well,” Mr. Taylor said. “You could see the storm blowing up off the coast and then moving westward. There’s one model I love to look at; it shows the wind field getting bigger and then coming in from the northeast toward New England. It had 50 to 60 steady mile-per-hour winds that were predicted, so the forecast was right on target.”
Mr. Taylor said that most of the damage sustained has been due to a combination of high winds and soft ground, which was worsened by the increasingly wet conditions.
“I measured 5.37 inches of rainwater over three days. Really,” Mr. Taylor said. “It’s a lot of water. Usually, for a nor’easter, we get maybe two or three inches of rain. So that was a big event. And we’ve had above-normal precipitation, so the ground is wetter than normal. Then you get a big wind, and it blows trees down.”
The presence of leaves also contributed greatly to the character of the storm, as Mr. Taylor said that, usually, storms like this happen during seasons where the tree limbs are barer.
“The last big [storm] here was March 2, 2018,” Mr. Taylor said, referencing a storm log he has kept for almost 20 years of all the storms in the Cape Cod area. “It gusted 92 mph with sustained winds of 55 to 65 mph. That would be very similar to what we just had because there were a lot of trees down in that storm, but that was March, so there weren’t any leaves on the trees. I think the uniqueness is in the fact that you still have the leaves on the trees. In these other big storms that I’ve observed, there were no leaves or it was a blizzard. That’s where all the damage has come from.”
Winds in the area peaked between 2 and 6 AM on Wednesday, Mr. Taylor said, and blew at a steady 50 to 60 mph. Conditions lessened throughout the day Wednesday, leaving residents with little more than a light drizzle and windy conditions in the evening, but the damage had already been done.
Eversource reported that more than 75 percent of the Upper Cape was without power as of 9 AM Wednesday. Bourne had been the hardest hit, with 99 percent of residents experiencing power outages.
At 8 o’clock Wednesday morning, a portion of East Main Street had power and the parking lot at Betsy’s Diner was packed. Downed trees, however, were blocking portions of Maravista Avenue, Scranton Avenue and Queen Street although the town marina parking lot provided a drive-around opportunity on Scranton Avenue. A steady stream of traffic was undeterred by enormous foot-deep flooded areas all along Main.
Cancellations and closures were numerous, even affecting the Mayflower Wind Cape Cod Marathon Event, put on by the Falmouth Running Club, which was set to be held this weekend.
Following discussions with Falmouth town officials, Falmouth police, and the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce, it was determined that all marathon events will be cancelled for the safety of everyone involved. Originally scheduled to begin Friday, October 29, and continue through Sunday, October 31, no postponement date has been decided as yet. Race director Jack Afarian said they are actively working to contact those involved to alert them of the cancellation.
Falmouth Public Schools have also been closed since Wednesday, due to power outages and road conditions.
Multiple agencies have reported extensive road closures as well.
Falmouth police reported Wednesday that multiple roads were closed, but did not specify which ones. The department also said that traffic lights were not operational at multiple major intersections, most of which had been restored by Thursday afternoon.
The Steamship Authority canceled all services on Wednesday, and is working to return to business as usual.
Christopher Campbell, communications administrator for the Town of Falmouth, said yesterday that the town is working with Eversource and other municipalities to restore power across town.
“We’re coordinating efforts across the town to get roadways cleared, services restored, public safety needs met, and go from there,” Mr. Campbell said. “Eversource is our primary utility partner, and they have a person embedded into the emergency operations center so we can get the latest up-to-date information as it’s coming out.”
While Eversource handles most of the identification process of priority areas internally, Mr. Campbell said that they have been working closely with the town to ensure that critical infrastructure, such as Falmouth Hospital, are tended to first. Mr. Campbell said that Falmouth Hospital was running on generator power for some time, but that its power was restored around midday on Thursday.
Mr. Campbell said that Eversource has given a regional update saying that power will be restored for the entire Cape Cod and South Shore region by tomorrow at 6 PM.
“They haven’t given us anything specific to Falmouth,” Mr. Campbell said. “We continue to ask for the public’s patience and understanding. We’re working diligently to get services restored and maintain public safety throughout the community.”
Mr. Campbell asks that people seeking updates head to the Town of Falmouth website or various social media platforms, where updates will be posted as available. Residents can also subscribe to alerts from the town through the Smart 911 system, which can be found on the town website.