BELCHERTOWN — Emily Johnson woke up at 2 a.m. Monday to her baby monitor beeping due to a power outage. Her infant daughter, thankfully, stayed sound asleep.
Powerful winds had knocked down a wire a few streets away from Johnson’s home on Allen Street, leaving her without electricity all morning. Lacking an internet connection for work, she drove to the Dunkin’ on Route 9, only to find the coffee shop was in the same situation.
“I tried Starbucks but I couldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi for some reason,” Johnson said at the Dunkin’ on Federal Street. “This is my third stop.”
Johnson was one of 785 people who reported power outages in Belchertown, according to the National Grid outage map. Some residents in Granby, Leverett and Shutesbury also lost electricity from a Monday night rainstorm and 30 mph winds. While power has returned for some, most outages were expected to continue until Tuesday evening.
“If you don’t have a generator in Belchertown, you’re in trouble,” 30-year Belchertown resident Randy Santos said.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Emily McMinn, a cold front moving from the Great Lakes and southern Ontario moved south through New England, bringing rain and strong winds up to 81 mph in some parts of eastern Massachusetts. In Hampshire County, winds reached up to 31 mph, peaking at 39 mph on Mount Tom.
National Grid spent the day restoring electricity to nearly 40,000 customers across Massachusetts. High winds seen during the storm can knock over utility poles and trees, National Grid spokesperson Christine Mulligan said. Not only do winds blow over trees, but saturated soils from melted snow and rain can loosen tree roots and increase the chance of them falling on a power line.
For most of the morning, Mulligan said crews addressed 911 calls and roads traveled by emergency responders first, before moving to critical facilities. Individual customers are often the final step in restoring power.
Mulligan advises people to treat all down wires as live. Never touch, approach or drive over a knocked-over line or tree that could have hit a pole. Water, trees and even people can conduct electricity and potentially shock someone.
“So many times I see people assume a down wire is safe because it’s de-energized and sometimes it is, but sometimes it’s not,” she said.
Belchertown Police Department reported on its Facebook page that Orchard Street, Allen Road, Jensen Street and Michael Sears Road were closed at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. A fallen utility pole made Route 116 impassable at the intersection of Amherst Road in Granby, Massachusetts Department of Transportation reports.
The closure of Shutesbury Road from two fallen trees delayed buses for Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, according to a statement sent out to district parents.
“If you are safely able to drive your child to school, it would be greatly appreciated,” the notice said. “We understand this is not possible for all caregivers, and buses will continue to run adjusted routes.”
Santos said trees commonly come down in Belchertown due to weather. This is the second power outage Orchard Street has had this year, and the street had four total last year. He expects the street to remain closed until 5 p.m. tonight.
The frequent outages inspired Santos and his wife Michele to purchase an electric generator. He bought his the day after the Halloween snowstorm in 2012, and it has kept him and his family safe ever since.
“It’s why the saying is ‘come to Belchertown, buy a generator,'” Santos said.