At least 2 dead as powerful storm brings heavy rain, winds to New England

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- At least two people died Monday as widespread heavy rain and strong winds triggered flash flooding, road washouts, power outages and travel problems across the northeastern United States.

After dumping several inches of rain up and down the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday, the powerful storm continued to pound New England on Monday, socking a wide area from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and upstate New York to northern Maine with excessive rainfall and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

Logan Airport in Boston reported a 60-mph gust at midday as rivers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island threatened to spill their banks.

Coastal flooding was also problem in New England. The tide gauge at Fox Point in Providence, R.I., where flood stage begins at 9 feet, climbed to 9.2 feet during Monday's midday high tide, including a storm surge of 4.5 feet, the National Weather Service reported.

At 1 p.m., 260,000 homes and businesses were without power in Massachusetts alone. By 5:30 p.m., about 740,000 customers remained without power in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, according to PowerOutage.us.

The storm turned deadly in Hanover, Mass., when strong winds caused a large tree to fall on a travel travel trailer, trapping an 89-year-old man inside, police told the Boston Herald. The resident was freed by rescue crews but later died at a hospital.

"As of 1 p.m., a significant portion of the community is without power," officials in Hanover advised. "Several roads are blocked with trees and other debris and electrical lines have been taken down throughout the community."

Local officials advised it could take up to 72 hours to restore power and urged all residents to remain home and stay off the roads Monday night.

Torrential downpours also affected upstate New York, especially in the Catskill Mountains, where some local rainfall totals topped 4 inches.

There were numerous reports of roads closed due to flooding in New York's Capital Region as well as the mid-Hudson Valley as officials urged residents to avoiding crossing any flooded roadways.

One person died in Catskill, N.Y., when a driver went around a barricade on a flooded road, Greene County, N.Y., sheriff's officials told the Albany Times-Union.

Meanwhile, the New England storm caused havoc with air travel. Nearly 20,000 flights were delayed and more than 1,300 canceled across the United States on Monday, according to FlightAware.com.

That total included 113 canceled and 154 delayed outgoing flights at Logan Airport, as well as 108 canceled and 213 delayed incoming flights at the airport.

A total of 155 outgoing flights and 165 incoming flights at New York's LaGuardia Airport were either canceled or delayed.

As Monday began, 11 states were under flood watches and wind gusts topped 60 mph. The storm also canceled hundreds of flights and led a cruise ship to dock in Boston, disrupting its planned trip to Florida and the Bahamas.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a travel advisory and urged commuters to take mass transit and avoid roads. Parts of New York and New Jersey saw 2 to 4 inches of rain before tapering off as the storm moved north toward Maine on Monday.

Coastal flooding alerts were issued throughout the mid-Atlantic through the Northeast. Forecasters expected water levels to approach 10 feet in Rhode Island, the highest levels since Hurricane Bob hit the area in 1991.

Other UPI staff contributed to this report.