Dopler radar has picked up a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing winds in excess of 60 mph heading into Western Massachusetts Watch video
SPRINGFIELD - The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Western Massachusetts, beginning at 8:11 p.m.
Dopler radar has picked up a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing winds in excess of 60 mph. The storms were located along a line extending from Great Barrington to Danbury, Conn. and were moving northeast at 50 mph. Areas covered in the warning include Greenfield, Northampton and Springfield.
The warning notes that this type of storm can produce a tornado however that is not considered likely. In any event, it advises people go into interior rooms and stay away from windows during the storm
A tornado warning was also issued for the New York City area and southern Connecticut.
High winds also caused power outages in parts of Vermont with nearly 9,000 customers without power on Tuesday evening.
Most of the outages occurred in Chittenden County. Customers also were in the dark in Orange, Windsor and Rutland counties.
A wind advisory remained in effect for the state until midnight.
In Western Massachusetts, there were reports of trees down throughout the Pioneer Valley.
In Northampton, a tree fell on a house on Fort Street but no one was injured.
The downed trees and limbs cause multiple power outages across the region.
Outages were reported throughout the area, the largest being in Northampton which had more than 2,000 customers without power because of an outage in the area of State Street. Many of the outages were located in the downtown area. Electricity was restored to most within an hour.
As of 8 p.m., Western Massachusetts Electric had every available crew working to restore power for dozens of outages across the region.
Spokesman Mitch Gross said in all some 1,900 customers throughout Western Massachusetts had no electricity. He said crews were working as best they could to restore power as soon as possible.
The outages were the result of winds knocking limbs down onto power lines, he said. “It’s the typical damage you see from high winds,” he said.
The same storm caused more than 20,000 customers to be without power in Connecticut.
The National Grid was reporting more than 4,000 customers without power across Massachusetts, although most of them were in the eastern part of the state.
In Western Massachusetts, the utility was reporting about 1,500 customers affected, with 1,000 in Berkshire County, and more than 300 each in Hampshire and Franklin counties.
The forecast on Wednesday calls for a chance of showers before 8 a.m. before it gradually becomes sunny. High temperatures should be in the upper 60s.