The Northeast struggled with power outages and commuting delays Monday morning as the remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe blew out of the region.
The storm left about 1.2 million customers without electricity, including 313,875 in Massachusetts and around 400,000 in Maine.
Maine was especially hard hit, and Gov. Paul LePage issued a state of emergency to give power companies more flexibility to make repairs.
Central Maine Power said it probably wouldn’t be able to restore power on Monday because of widespread damage and the danger of downed power lines. Another round of high winds was expected in the afternoon.
“Our first priority is public safety, and crews are busy grounding and de-energizing downed lines so they don’t pose a danger to first responders or the public,” said Gail Rice, the utility spokeswoman.
Conditions across the region will slowly improve on Monday as the low-pressure system drifts into Canada, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.
Colder air will push in behind the system for much of the East, he said. Frost was being reported as far south as the Florida Panhandle and snow may fall on the higher elevations of the Appalachians.
For many, the storm was an unpleasant reminder of Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey five years ago. Some New Englanders also remembered “the Perfect Storm” of October 30-31, 1991, which killed at least nine people.
So far, no deaths have been reported from Philippe.
Much of New England was dealing with flood watches Monday morning.
New York’s Central Park reported more than 3 inches of rain and parts of Connecticut reported more than 5 inches of rain.
More than 60 million people in a dozen states from Maine to the Carolinas were under high wind warnings or wind advisories. The National Weather Service reported winds of 131 mph on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. In Massachusetts, Mashpee reported 82 mph and Nantucket 70 mph, the weather service said.
Transportation was slowed across the Northeast.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority warned commuters to expect delays across the system because of flooding and high winds that knocked trees down across tracks.
Service was suspended and then resumed on several lines of the Long Island Railroad and Amtrak between Boston and New Haven, Connecticut, the transit agencies said on their Twitter accounts.
Dozens of flights were delayed at LaGuardia Airport in New York and Logan Airport in Boston, the website FlightAware reported.
In Massachusetts, dozens of schools canceled or delayed the start of classes for the day, CNN affiliate WBZ reported.
Philippe formed near western Cuba a few days ago, the National Hurricane Center said. It raced up the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast and by Sunday afternoon had dissipated and merged with a cold front, the center said.