Widespread Power Outages Hit Mass., State of Emergency Declared

A potentially record-breaking nor’easter, dumping snow and high winds throughout Massachusetts overnight, has left many residents powerless this morning.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported that 650,688 utility customers are without power across the state this morning. Western and Central Massachusetts were the hardest hit. Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Saturday night.

Large portions of Norfolk County, including Foxborough are also without power this morning. 89.7 percent, 7,014 Foxborough residents, have no power as of this morning. Many residents, who still have the r on top of mind, are left to wonder when their power will be restored. However, unlike Irene, temperatures are low, causing an even more stressful situation.

"Irene was one thing because it was not cold, but also not a heat wave. However, it is cold out now, so I am more concerned," said one Foxborough resident. 

Foxborough residents are reporting severe tree damage and downed lines around town.

The town of Foxborough has opened an at the starting at 3pm.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Norfolk County, including Foxborough Saturday morning.

Foxborough saw heavy rain before changing over to snow and knocking out power for some residents as early as 6:30pm Saturday.

One event casualty of the potential record breaking October weather, dubbed "snowtober," was Foxborough's Halloween parade. A statement on the Foxboro Recreation Department's Facebook page read, "It is with great disappointment that we must cancel the parade scheduled for this afternoon...We feel awful since, so much time, energy and work went into this Not to mention the wonderful volunteers who helped us , The high school cooking class made 400 cookies for the kids, Stop n Shop was donating apple cider, the fire dept, and police dept stepped up to help."

According to the National Weather Channel, the weekend storm is the greatest October snowstorm on record for the Northeast, dating back to the Civil War.

In anticipation of power outages, National Grid has extra crews ready to assist in the hard-hit areas.

National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry said that heavy, wet snow falling on leaf-bearing trees caused trees and limbs to fall on lines, the Boston Globe reports.

Barry said that crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency offers safety tips for power outages. Click here to view.

Do you have photos of "snowtober" that you would like to share? Add them to our gallery above or email Courtney.Jansson@patch.com.

Emergency Phone Numbers:

Foxborough Police - 508-543-4343

Foxborough Fire Department - (508) 543-1230

Emergency - Dial 911

NSTAR Electric - 800.592.2000

NSTAR Gas - 800.592.2000

National Grid -1-800-465-1212

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority - 617.242.6000

Verizon - 800.837.4966

Comcast - 1-866-922-0069

Logan Airport - 800.235.6426

MA Road and Traffic Conditions - 617.374.1234 (via cell phone: 511)

MBTA - 617.222.3200