PAXTON, Mass. - While this week’s winter storm didn’t bring as much snow to eastern and southern parts of the state, the hill towns of central Massachusetts are still digging out and some homes are still without power. 

What You Need To Know

  • National Grid estimates 9,000 customers are still without power as of Wednesday afternoon

  • More than 95,000 people have had their power restored

  • People in hard-hit areas also spent Wednesday shoveling out

  • Paxton received at least 27 inches of snow in some locations

As of Wednesday afternoon, National Grid estimated roughly 9,000 customers were without power, while 95,000 have had their power restored. Now, their efforts are primarily focused on towns with high snow totals where heavy, wet snow is weighing down on trees and power lines.

“Roads yesterday were a challenge for us, because even our large bucket trucks had trouble accessing some of the damage yesterday and last night," said National Grid spokesperson Chris Milligan. "Thankfully, all of those conditions are a lot better today. We’re not seeing the same winds, wind gusts knocking out and causing more damage.”

Milligan said it’s been an all hands on deck effort, with more than 3,000 personnel out responding to the storm. 

“We brought in crews from nine different states to assist with our efforts," Milligan said. "Connecticut, Illinois, as far away as West Virginia, Michigan and Pennsylvania.”

Meanwhile, folks in towns like Barre, Rutland, Paxton and Holden also kept busy Wednesday shoveling. Lingering snow overnight still caused some trouble on the roads with crashes and downed trees in the region.

“I’d say in Barre we got maybe a foot and a half, in Oakham they got almost two feet over there," said Barre resident Carl Lindley. "It’s wet, it’s heavy and I’ll be happy when it’s over.”

Meanwhile in Paxton, some parts of the town received as much as 27 inches of snow. On Wednesday morning, Robert Lanava was helping shovel out a neighbor's driveway. 

“We’re a pretty close knit community," Lanava said. "We all pitch in and help each other. Everybody’s always hopeful for an early spring, but, you know, it’s New England and anything is possible.”

National Grid expects most customers still affected by an outage will have their power restored by Thursday morning, while smaller pockets could be more of a process to restore service.