BOSTON (WHDH) - Thunderstorms and heavy rain rolled across Massachusetts from the west to the east on Friday, leaving at least 17,500 people without power at the height of the severe weather.
Lightning strikes during the wild weather were believed to have caused a few fires including at a house in Watertown. Another fire that started at The Leicester Housing Authority displaced several tenants, who may not be able to return for a few days or even weeks.
Thunderstorm warnings were issued for parts of New England at one point in the afternoon, including a flash flood warning for parts of central and western Massachusetts that was in affect until 4:45 p.m.
Viewer submitted video showed downpours in Leicester and Worcester, featuring rain blowing sideways, bending trees and bushes in the process.
Further to the east, video posted by the Wellesley Police department showed roads flooding and traffic snared by the water.
The police department also posted footage of a tree struck by lightning, burning from the inside at Elm Bank as Dover Fire worked to put it out. Struck by lightning or not, trees were toppled during the storm as well, closing roads from Easthampton to Leicester and beyond.
Lighter rains with some lightning could still be seen in Metro Boston around 6 p.m. while the South Shore continued to see remnants of what swept through the state and Rhode Island.
At the same time, storms passing through Connecticut continued to hit Providence, with the potential to cross over into Bristol County in Mass. later in the evening.
Throughout the afternoon, pockets of heavy rain dumped 1-2 inches of water in central Mass., with 2-3 inches of rain being dumped in and around Auburn.
All the while, lightning strikes could be seen across the state, including one lightning bolt that hit the Prudential Tower in Boston.
Another viewer submitted photo captured the moment lightning strikes hit the water near Winthrop’s coast.
By 6:45 p.m., some 17,726 power customers were without electricity across to the outage map maintained by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
By 8:30 p.m., the number of affected customers shrank to just over 4,700.
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