High Wind in Massachusetts, February 19 to 20, 1997

Strong and gusty west to northwest winds in the wake of a cold front caused scattered property damage in parts of the state. A peak wind gust to 58 mph was recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton at 9:53 PM on February 19th and winds were reported gusting over 40 mph at Winthrop beginning around 10 PM. The highest wind gust reported was 64 mph in Springfield during the early morning hours of February 20th. About 1,700 electric customers lost power in Northampton when a falling tree knocked down power lines. Other smaller power outages affected parts of surrounding towns. In downtown Springfield, a traffic signal was blown off its mast. Many tree limbs were reported blown down in Holyoke. A store window was reported blown out in Florence, in the northwest part of Northampton. In the Boston area, a peak wind gust to 57 mph was reported from Winthrop at 1:38 AM while a gust to 61 mph was recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton at 2:10 AM. There were a few reports of minor property damage.