National Grid Pushes Back Restoration Time

Updates:

Storm Photo Gallery

As of 1:20 p.m. Monday:

• About 8 percent of National Grid’s customers in Andover were without power as of 1:15 p.m. Monday, 75 minutes after an earlier estimate indicated work would be completed by noon. The utility is now saying work will be completed by 6:45 p.m.
• Essex County is under a flood watch until 2 a.m. Tuesday
• Town of Andover phones are not receiving incoming phone calls. If you require immediate assistance, you can email manager@andoverma or by complete a service request oandoverma.gov/311
• If you know of weekend events that were postponed or canceled, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I’m working on getting those updates out to Andover News readers.
• The Robb Center is open until 4 p.m. Monday for normal activities and programming. Fitness classes will be held in the Cormier Youth Center.
• Andover Public Schools are closed Monday as crews continue cleaning up debris from roads and sidewalks following Friday’s storm.

This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

Resources:

• Town Storm Update Page
• MEMA Power Outage Map
• National Grid Restoration Estimates

Meteorologists believe it was a microburst that hit Andover Friday, causing millions of dollars of damages and weekend long power outage for a majority of residents and businesses.Andover Public Schools are closed Monday, tree crews are working around the clock, and insurance agents are starting the week with piles of claims to process.

At least two people were taken to the hospital Friday after a tree fell on their house. Hundreds of trees across Andover were uprooted and blown down, damaging houses, blocking roads and causing weekend-long power outages for most residents and businesses.

Crews worked around the clock throughout the weekend and into Monday to clear roads of trees and restore power after Friday’s intense wind and rainstorm.

National Grid had to repair two substations as part of the power restoration service. The work was completed Saturday evening, but there were still power lines throughout Andover that needed to be repaired.

The storm damage, which will likely take weeks if not months to clear and repair, included a centuries-old tree on the common next to Town offices. “It’s so sad,” a woman who was taking photos of the tree said on Saturday. “This tree was here before our great-great grandparents were alive.”

While the storm lasted just 30 minutes Friday afternoon, it brought heavy rain and hail on top of intense winds.

Essex and Middlesex Counties were hardest hit by Friday’s storm, with unconfirmed reports of a microburst passing through North Andover. In addition to the damaging winds, the storm brought heavy rain, hail, thunder, and lighting started and a little before 3 p.m. About 45 minutes later, the rain had stopped and the sun started to peak through clouds. But over the short window, it did widespread damage that will likely take weeks to clean up.

The storm comes after one of the hottest stretches of what was a mostly rainy summer. The storm also comes on the heels of two rainstorms that caused flash flooding and widespread damage in August. More storms are in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Andover streets were clogged with traffic into the evening Friday. A downed tree closed Route 114 in North Andover, jamming side streets as drivers tried to find a way around – often finding more trees blocking secondary roads or downed wires that forced them to turn around.