Torrential downpours left deep puddles of standing water on many Massachusetts roads Thursday, prompting closures and making for a slow morning commute.Real-time storm updatesThe National Weather Service issued the flash flood warning earlier for Essex an Middlesex counties.Hour-by-hour futurecast | Video forecastState police official tweets Thursday report disabled vehicles and heavy backups around the state. About three dozen vehicles were disabled on Route 146 in Sutton where a large pothole opened up. Two lanes of Interstate 95 were closed in Weston.A spokesman for the state Emergency Management Agency says water is slow to drain because leaves are clogging drains and catch basins.Images: Nor'easter brings down trees, knocks out powerThe National Weather Service says some areas received nearly three inches of rain.National Grid was reporting about 9,400 customers without electricity early Thursday, while NStar had about 2,400 outages."As we go through the day, the showers will begin to wind down," StormTeam 5 Meteorologist Danielle Vollmar said. "Winds will finally back down as we head toward the overnight hours."The offshore storm is not expected to taper off until the afternoon.In Natick, officials believe a lightning strike sparked a fire at a home on East Evergreen at 1 a.m. One person was home at the time, however, no injuries were reported.A tree fell across Washington Street crushing a car in Jamaica Plain.Forecasters said the primary concern for flooding was north of Cape Ann and in the Scituate area, and beach erosion is expected along the exposed beaches of Salisbury and Plum Island.This weekend looks dry and seasonable, forecasters said.