Winds jolt Northeast U.S.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – High winds knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in the Northeast on Wednesday and wreaked havoc for commuters, blowing trees across railroad tracks, overturning tractor-trailers and making for wild ferry rides.

More than 440,000 homes and businesses lost power, and several airports reported delays of two hours or more. The wind was blamed for at least two deaths when trees fell on cars. Power failures were reported in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, the Philadelphia area, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine.

Some customers had their electricity back within hours, while others were told that wind damage to utility poles and wires was so extensive that repairs might take days.

In Maryland, a storm-caused power-outage forced NASA to scrub its launch Wednesday of an unmanned spacecraft on a voyage to Pluto.

Gusts exceeded 60 mph around the Boston area, including an 85 mph gust at an observatory in Milton, south of Boston.

Louise Donase was stuck in traffic on New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge, watching as gusts of wind tore the mud flaps from the trucks around her. Then the green tractor-trailer on her right was blown over, right onto her brand new Honda. “The noise was deafening,” she said in an interview at her desk in White Plains. “It came over right onto my car and the SUV in front of me. … I was afraid the truck would ignite.”

At Boston’s Logan International Airport, incoming flights were delayed more than 2½ hours by the weather at midafternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Earlier in the day, departures were delayed an average of one hour and 39 minutes at Newark International Airport and 56 minutes at New York’s La Guardia Airport, where winds were gusting at 59 mph.