Storms swept through parts of New England Friday, causing flooding in several communities and briefly triggering a tornado warning for part of Worcester County.
With storms finally moving out of the region around 11 p.m., several communities were left dealing with flooded roads and other damage.
One video shared with 7NEWS showed hail falling in Leominster Friday afternoon, while another video captured the moment lightning appeared to strike the ground in Gardner.
Photos from Lowell showed multiple cars in a flooded area near the intersection of Moore Street and Gorham Street. At least one police cruiser was spotted nearby blocking the roadway.
On another road in Lowell, video showed a car driving down a street covered in water before getting stuck.
The Hubbardston Fire Department in a tweet asked community members to avoid the area around Main Street due to “significant flooding” shortly before 6 p.m.
In Billerica, local police said part of Mt. Pleasant Street was closed Friday afternoon due to flooding at an MBTA rail bridge.
Part of Route 20 in Worcester was also flooded shortly after 8 p.m., MassDOT spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard said.
Downpours in Boston sent water pouring down stairways at Fenway Park, as shown in several videos on social media. Already in a rain delay, the Red Sox announced around 10:15 p.m. that Friday’s game against the New York Mets had been suspended due to rain. The game is scheduled to resume at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday. The Red Sox’s previously scheduled 4:10 p.m. game on Saturday will now begin at 7:10 p.m.
In Deerfield, flooding hit several locations, slowing travel on some roads and completely washing out others Friday afternoon.
The shoulder of Route 5 in one spot in Deerfield was damaged with roughly 300 feet of a gas line “exposed and out of alignment,” according to Goddard. Crews, Goddard said, will need to work to fix the line and reconstruct the roadway shoulder when the floodwater recedes.
MassDOT also reported flooding in communities including Greenfield and Leominster.
In Conway, Mass., one person shared video of a road left covered in rocks and debris after water swept through the area.
Also in western Massachusetts, an Amtrak train had to end service in Springfield Friday night due to a washout between Northampton and Greenfield. Buses were scheduled to pick up riders as of around 10:20 p.m. but Goddard said it would be several hours before the buses arrived.
In addition to flooding, storms brought periods of intense lightning Friday, with lightning striking one home in Haverhill while a family was inside.
Wellesley police shared video of flames burning in a tree near Schaller Street after a lightning strike.
Within Boston, lightning was seen lighting up the sky on several occasions.
The National Weather Service’s Boston office estimated more than six inches of rain fell between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. near Deerfield on Friday. Larger sections of Connecticut and Central Massachusetts received two or more inches of rain during the same period, according to the same NWS report.
“Thus all the flooding that we’ve seen,” the NWS said in a tweet.
A flash flood warning was in effect as of around 11 p.m. for the Metro Boston area and for much of Metro West, scheduled to remain in effect until 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
Storms are expected to move out of the region overnight ahead of drier weather expected this weekend.
Read more on the 7WEATHER Blog.
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