‘Delightful’ weather follows storm’s wrath
Area rebounds from outages, damage
The roughly 17,000 homes stuck without power during Monday evening’s storms were mostly restored yesterday, but officials say it is a reminder to watch out for aging trees and stay away from windows during storms as the region enters thunderstorm season.
The hardest-hit area was Essex County, where some 5,000 homes were without power in Haverhill at one point Monday, according to National Grid. In West Newbury numbers reached 1,189. Also hardhit was Hardwick, on the Quabbin Reservoir, where about 1,200 people were without power.
In Haverhill, people made a quick recovery after strong winds sent trees falling onto homes and cars and lightning sparking small fires.
“It was kind of hectic,” said Haverhill fire Chief William Laliberty. “We had multiple calls for trees that fell and damaged a couple houses. A lightning strike that caused a small fire in a house. ... Reportedly, no one was injured and there was no severe property damage.”
For future storms, Laliberty warned community members to check the trees in their backyards in case they’re at risk of falling.
“With high winds and heavy rains, they should evaluate the trees around their homes to make sure they are healthy and stable,” Laliberty said.
For this week at least, the National Weather Service predicts “delightful” weather.
“It was a line of thunderstorms, a typical summer weather pattern,” NWS meteorologist Bill Simpson said. “It is hot and humid.”
“We’re going to have a very delightful pattern the next five to six days,” Simpson added. “It was a change in air mass. We’re on the good side now.”