Mix of heavy winds and rain knocks out power to thousands

BOSTON (AP) — A storm packing a mix of heavy rains and winds knocked out power to thousands of homes across the Northeast region Christmas morning.

There were more than 7,000 customers without power early Friday in Massachusetts. State officials and utility companies had warned that the winds could knock down trees, bringing power lines down with them.

Winds gusted more than 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in some areas during the early morning hours.

The National Weather Service reported that one to two inches (2.5-5 centimeters) of rain had fallen across much of Connecticut, Rhode Island and portions of Massachusetts by about 9 a.m. with additional rains on the way.

The combination of heavy rain and melting snow is resulting in flooding in some of areas, the service said. There was heavy flooding on portions of Route 95 in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Adding to the flooding woes were temperatures that rose into the 60s, accelerating the melting of existing snow cover.

Eversource was cancelling vacations for many employees and bringing in crews from as far away as Pennsylvania and Canada to help restore power in Massachusetts.

Unitil Corp., an electric and gas utility in New England, opened its regional emergency operations centers in response to the high winds.

Thousands of New Jersey electric customers were also without power on Christmas Day.

Jersey Central Power & Light reported almost 13,200 customers without power shorty before midday Friday.

Public Service Electric & Gas Co. reported more than 7,370 customers affected in Bergen County and more than 1,000 in Hudson county. Atlantic City Electric Co. reported more than 1,000 customers affected in each of Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester and Atlantic counties.

Mark Durbin of FirstEnergy, Jersey...