Power outages were widespread in Western Massachusetts after high winds

Mass. (WWLP) – At one point this evening, almost 1,000 National Grid customers were without power in Hampden County alone. Strong winds and cold air blew right through Western Massachusetts bringing with it wind damage, hitting all four counties.

Jim Aliengena from Belchertown told 22News, “Oh yeah, it was coming pretty good, came right through.”

From a fallen tree on Thorndike Road in Palmer blocking traffic flow and access to the Mass Pike, to an early morning power outage on Michael Sears Road in Belchertown caused by more trees falling from heavy wind gusts.

Jim Aliengena added, “I heard the wind whip through. I looked through the window and saw the first branch came down that took the power out.”

The wind damage in Hampden County did not stop there. In East Longmeadow, just over 300 customers were without power as of early Friday evening according to National Grid. That included some restaurants that missed out on a normally busy Friday night.

Salvatore De Nardo, the owner of De Nardo’s Pizzeria and Restaurant said, “Friday is a big night of the week. If the heat doesn’t come back on tonight, we got a problem.”

Salvatore De Nardo closed his restaurant’s doors Friday night because of no power which also means no refrigeration.

Salvatore De Nardo added, “Like a dough, I have to make a new dough tomorrow. I have to throw this stuff away but hopefully, it comes back on soon.”

Frigid, cold temperatures now adding to this problem. Local utility companies are expecting power to be fully restored in this part of Hampden County by late Friday evening.