Lightning strike downs trees, damages home in Westborough

WESTBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - A lightning strike in Westborough downed several trees and blasted out the window of a home early Monday morning.

Officers responding to the area of Hundreds Road around 3 a.m. found a large window in the back of a house shattered, along with remains of several trees scattered in the backyard.

Lowell Ackerman, a neighbor who also had many downed trees in his yard, recalled hearing a loud bang before heading outside to view the damage.

“It sounded like a big clap of thunder and it sounded like it was coming from the back of the house but it was from back here,” he said. “I think it’s going to take a while to clean up but we think we’ll get it all cleaned up.”

The lightning strike temporarily left part of the neighborhood without power.

“We don’t even have power, so it’s hard to know actually within the house, I know my computer was fried,” Ackerman said.

Firefighters told those in the neighborhood that they believe the lightning either struck the cable box in front of the house and traveled underground to the trees in the backyard or it hit the backyard directly.

No injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for part of Worcester County around 1 a.m. It has since been canceled.

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