Fire Chief John Mauro Jr. said lightning strikes outside two homes caused minor damage last night as a second wave of storms made its way through Southborough.
The strong thunderstorm that passed through town last night capped off a day of severe weather that spawned tornadoes and caused extensive damage in other areas of the state, killing at least four people in Western Mass.
Just after 9:00 pm, lightning struck outside a home at 5 Kidder Lane, and then traveled into the house through the phone line. Mauro said the house sustained only minor damage. A short time later, emergency crews responded to a report of a lightning strike at a home on Central Street. Mauro said lightning appears to have struck a tree behind the house and then a bulkhead.
National Grid reported a handful of customers in the Cordaville area lost power as a result of the storm.
Earlier in the day, Southborough was under a tornado warning as the line of storms that ravaged western parts of the state headed east. With reports of tornadoes on the ground in Springfield, many Southborough residents headed to the relative safety of their basements. The storm weakened substantially before reaching Southborough and thankfully caused no damage.
When the second round of storms came through last night, I was at the Town House listening to the selectmen interview candidates for promotion in the police department (more on that later). I sneaked downstairs to take this video looking out the front of the Town House toward Main Street. The lightning was coming fast and furious.
(Click here to view video on YouTube.)
What did you think of the storms? Were you watching it all play out on local TV news? Did you hang out in your basement for a while just in case? Share your experience in the comments.
“lightning,” not “lightening.” There is no “e” unless you are using bleach to make your laundry less dark. Otherwise, great job, as always!
Ack! Thank you! All corrected now. I guess I’m not going to be invited to join the annual town spelling bee any time soon.
Thank you to the Southborough Fire Department for their quick response to our house. They were wonderful and incredibly thorough. We cannot thank them enough!!!