Powerful nor'easter, fed by Wilma, hits New England

Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer - Boston.com: "An early nor'easter fueled by Hurricane Wilma churned up 20-foot seas on Tuesday, knocked out power to tens of thousands of people and further drenched a region still cleaning up from flooding earlier in the month.

Wilma stayed well offshore, but the nor'easter drew strength from the hurricane a day after it slammed Florida. Winds topped 60 mph and with the ground already saturated, trees and limbs came crashing down, knocking out power to more than 70,000 homes and businesses across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

"It's getting some energy from Wilma, but it's its own separate system," said Alan Dunham of the National Weather Service.

Many commercial fishermen stayed in port, mindful of the October 1991 "Perfect Storm," which inspired the book and movie of the same name about a Gloucester swordfishing boat that disappeared at sea. In that instance, a nor'easter collided with Hurricane Grace in the north Atlantic.

"I wouldn't want to be out there today -- too dangerous," said fisherman Matt Farrara, who was making repairs to his boat at the state fishing pier here. He fished through the 1991 storm and through the devastating blizzard of '78.

Waves topping 22 feet were recorded at buoys off Cape Cod and at the mouth of Boston Harbor, but meteorologists said the coast would be spared from severe flooding because the tides were at the low point of their astronomic cycle.

Still, there was minor morning flooding on Cape Cod, and authorities were concerned that the evening high tide would bring a bigger storm surge here on Cape Ann.

Jodi Cunningham, manager of Captain Bill and Sons Whale Watch in Gloucester, canceled trips for most of the week.

"It's been a tough October," she said. "We already had one stint of about eight days of really windy weather and then we got out for a couple days, and now this."

At the typically bustling Chatham Fish Pier, on Cape Cod, waves slapped against a bulkhead and sent salt water spraying across the parking lot.

All ferries between the Cape, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket were canceled. "It's a public safety issue," said Steamship Authority spokesman Mark Rozum. "We're really at the mercy of the weather."

Winds gusted to 66 mph at the Blue Hills Observatory south of Boston.

"The wind is the big thing," National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Thompson said. "But we also have some coastal flooding to deal with and we are anticipating some minor flooding inland."

It has already been the wettest month on record in Providence, R.I., with 13.21 inches of rain. Worcester topped its October record with 13.46 inches, and Boston was expected to break its October record of 10.66 inches with Tuesday's storm.

Another 5 inches of rain was expected from this storm, and authorities were keeping a close eye on tributaries of the Merrimack River. A flood warning was also issued for the Connecticut River in Middletown, Conn., and the river was over its banks in Hartford. Widespread flooding occurred across southern New England earlier in the month.

Snow was expected in the Berkshires on Tuesday night, with the potential for up to 7 inches of heavy, wet snow at elevations over 1,500 feet.

Nearly 40,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon, along with 25,000 in Connecticut and 7,500 in Rhode Island.

With temperatures expected to plummet to near freezing later Tuesday, restoring power was a top priority, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

At Logan International Airport in Boston, dozens of flights were canceled and others were delayed by up to 2 1/2 hours. Delays were also reported at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island.

The statue of a soldier at Minuteman National Historic Park in Concord had become an island as water spilled over the banks of the Concord River, a Merrimack tributary, and ducks splashed around its base.

That didn't keep away Spencer McConkie, 24, who was visiting the historic site from his home in Salt Lake City. "It's not what I'm used to," he said of the weather. "I just learned what a nor'easter was yesterday."

Near her Concord farm stand, Jean Giurleo, 64, watched the water rising in a marsh. It floods every time there's a heavy rain, and lately that's been every week.

"There's nothing we can do," she said. "Just wait for the water to come down.""