High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, October 1, 1998

Strong west to northwest winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph in the wake of a strong cold front caused scattered power outages and scattered wind damage across the state from the Connecticut Valley to eastern Massachusetts. In the Connecticut Valley, strong winds resulted in power outages affecting up to 10,000 electric customers, including 8,500 in Hampshire County where one major electric line was knocked down in Easthampton. In Springfield, a huge tree fell onto a house causing considerable damage. In Palmer, several panes of glass were blown out of a second story window and crashed into the street. In Worcester County, a few of the reports included large branches that fell across power lines in Gardner and a large tree which fell and blocked a street in Templeton. A falling tree in Leominster damaged a parked car and scattered power outages affected electric customers in Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend, and Ashby. In the Merrimack Valley, the strong winds knocked down trees and tree limbs which fell onto power lines and blacked out power to 4,000 electric customers. In Middlesex County, a police officer in Marlboro was nearly killed when a huge tree fell into the road and crushed a van. The tree also ripped down power and telephone lines. In Holliston, the strong winds knocked down a large tree which fell onto a van, resulting in a total loss. In Chelmsford, a lot of trees and tree limbs were blown down. In Cambridge, many tree limbs were reported downed and a tree fell on a vehicle and part of a bus. No injuries were reported, but there was one indirect injury when a police officer bumped his head. The peak wind gust reported during the afternoon was 59 mph atop Blue Hill in Milton.