HOLLISTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A strong line of storms that moved through Massachusetts and prompted a tornado warning on Wednesday toppled trees, downed power lines and brought flooding to some areas.
Soaring afternoon temperatures and oppressive humidity levels preceded powerful thunderstorms and heavy downpours as damaging wind gusts whacked the region.
Related: Severe weather warnings, watches in effect across Massachusetts
A tornado warning was issued for parts of Berkshire county, but have since expired. The storms pushed east and pummeled parts of the Greater Boston area and south.
Strong winds, torrential rain, and frequent lightning knocked out power to more than 12,000 residents at one point in the evening.
Video from the Red Line shows rain pouring into one of the cars.
Holliston was one of the hardest-hit communities in Middlesex County. A large tree was completely uprooted and came crashing down, narrowly missing a home, several cars and a set of powerlines.
One neighbor described the storm as, “a white wall of rain.”
For about a minute, neighbors in the community say it felt like their homes were going to collapse.
“It was unbelievable, you couldn’t see nothing for about a minute and a half, two minutes,” Mark Rossini, who lives in the area, said.
Despite the severity of the storm, no one was injured.
Strong winds in Boston sent another tree toppling right in front of the Bunker Hill monument.
Meanwhile, torrential rain flooded the HOV lane on Interstate 93 south and forced lane closures on Quincy Shore Drive.
The busy street reopened later in the evening as floodwaters receded.
Those who experienced the storm say they are grateful there were no serious injuries reported.
“After it was all said and done, it was pretty exciting to witness that,” one man said.
Same neighborhood as the previous posts in Holliston. Some serious storm damage over here #7News pic.twitter.com/HpQc8SELzB
— Justin Bourke (@JBourkeTweets) July 17, 2019
This week’s crazy weather is not over yet as showers with the chance of a few rumbles of thunder are expected to persist into Thursday morning before the heat arrives.
Temperatures will sit in the low 90s on Friday but Saturday and Sunday will bring scorching conditions.
Points along the South Shore, Boston, and up through the Merrimack Valley could see 100-degree heat on Saturday, in addition to humid air.
“Over the weekend, it’s all about the heat. The last time Boston hit 100 was July 22, 2011, with a reading of 103,” Lambert wrote. “If we get all day sun, we’ll hit 100 on Saturday.”
Sunday will bring mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid-90s.
The heat and humidity will linger into Monday.
Tuesday will bring relief with highs in the low 80s and low humidity.
For more, visit the 7Weather page.
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