Cape Cod Tornadoes Day 3: 7K Without Power, Several Roads Reopen

CAPE COD, MA — The cleanup effort on Cape Cod enters its third day after two tornadoes touched down, causing extensive damage across several communities. Officials said Thursday morning "significant progress" has been made in restoring power, but it is not expected to be fully restored until Friday evening.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday morning, the following communities were still experiencing outages:

• Harwich: 23 percent; 2619
• Chatham: 16 percent; 1352
• Dennis 9 percent; 1498
• Brewster 8 percent; 760
• Yarmouth 6 percent; 1038

In Harwich, all main roads are open, with the exception of parts of Route 124. All roads in Mashpee, Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet have reopened. In Dennis, four or five roads are partially closed, police said. Route 28 in Yarmouth is open with intermittent lane closures.

Dennis police shared a story of a family on Sea Street in Dennis Port who fed utility crews working in their neighborhood.

"A big thank you to them and anyone else who has taken the time to be a good neighbor in the aftermath of this event," Dennis police said.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes hit Cape Cod Tuesday after originating in a "supercell thunderstorm" in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. The first went ashore in Barnstable before lifting in South Yarmouth, and the second appeared in Harwich a few minutes later, according to the NWS. Weather officials said "straight-line wind damage" was seen in Chatham and Dennis.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday the National Guard is ready to assist in cleanup efforts as he called for more resources on the ground. Baker said it's "very hard" at this point to determine the scope of the debris and damage on the mid-Cape.

Communities are still reeling from multiple tornadoes that touched down, tearing rooftops from buildings, uprooting trees and cutting power to tens of thousands residents and travelers. More than 30,000 people remained without power Wednesday afternoon. Craig Hallstrom, president of regional electric operations for Eversource, said power is expected to be fully restored on the Cape by Friday.

Weather officials classified the tornadoes as an EF1, as they whipped up winds of 110 mph. The EF, or Enhanced Fujita Scale, ranks tornadoes from 0-6 in terms of severity.

Cape Cod Tornado Coverage

• Tornado Wreaks Havoc On Cape Cod; State Of Emergency Declared
• National Guard Ready, More Resources Needed
• Cape Cod Power Slowly Being Restored, Still 30,000+ Without