Work crews might be unable to restore power to some customers until the weekend.
A tree fell on two vehicles in a driveway this afternoon at 29 King Philip Ave in South Deerfield. Here, Jane Kosterman and Jeffrey May show the two trucks under the branches.SPRINGFIELD – Heavy winds sent trees sprawling onto Interstate 91 in Franklin County and elsewhere while more than 20,000 customers lost power from Pittsfield to Springfield in a storm that put the region on edge because of last week’s tornadoes.
Dark clouds, thunder, lightning and powerful rain began in the late afternoon, but reports of a tornado striking Amherst were untrue, abc40 Meteorologist Ed Carroll said.
“That’s absolutely false,” said Carroll, who said the activity was the result of small thunderstorms moving ahead of a cold front.
Sandra Ahearn, spokeswoman for Western Massachusetts Electric Co., said it could be the weekend before some customers get power back. The storm knocked trees and utility poles onto wires from Pittsfield, to Greenfield to Springfield, she said.
“We’re anticipating it’s going to be a multiday event,” Ahearn said.
“WMECO has engaged every available employee and has brought in contractor crews and requested assistance from other utilities. Because today’s storms caused extensive damage throughout the New England region, WMECO is reaching outside the region for additional assistance,” she said.
Customers can report outages at (413) 781-4300 or (877) 659-6326.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says around 37,000 customers lost power Thursday as a line of storms moved west to east though the state, the Associated Press reported.
Thousands of customers also lost power in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont, AP reported.
At 5:08 p.m., Amherst officials reached out to residents via automated phone call following unverified reports of a tornado and a funnel cloud spinning through Amherst and Leverett. Residents were told to seek shelter in their basements. The alert was rescinded a half-hour later.
Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger said firefighters were called to several reports of downed trees and wires across the city including the areas of Bradley Road, Sumner Avenue, Parker Street.
Firefighters were called to a report of people trapped in a car under a downed tree but everyone was safely out of the car before the first units arrived, he said.
Also firefighters were called to assist at 93 Quincy St. where a tree fell on a house. A resident suffered an arm injury when hit by the tree, he said.
Also a house at 386 Parkerview Street was stuck by lightning, he said.
There are also reports coming in of wind damage through the city, he said.
Republican employee Jane Kosterman, of King Philip Avenue in South Deerfield, reported a “huge” tree fell on her husband’s truck in the driveway of their home.
“We were on the porch and we heard this crack and a lot of wind,” Kosterman said.
The tree then “uprooted itself” and fell into the driveway, where a neighbor’s truck was also parked. The tree also hit the garage, but she was unsure of the extent of the damage.
State police said at least six trees were on I-91 in Deerfield and Greenfield from the thunderstorm.
A Republican reporter driving on the highway said several cars were pulled over off to the side of the road.
The region is still assessing damage and slowly rebuilding after three tornados ripped a line from Westfield to Sturbridge June 1. The tornadoes were blamed for four deaths, while damaging or destroying more than 5,000 homes and displacing hundreds of people.
Dispatch switchboards in Franklin County lit up from about 4 to 5 p.m. as skies darkened and thunder boomed. State Police in the Shelburne barracks said trees were down along I-91 from the 41-mile marker south of Greenfield north to Exit 28 in Bernardston.
By 6 p.m., the interstate was clear but police said a section of Route 116 between I-91 and Conway was closed as crews worked to remove downed trees.
Police in Chicopee received calls about fallen trees all over the city, officials said.
One tree fell on a home on Walton Street in Chicopee. There were no injuries, police said.
In Westfield there were major power outages throughout the city as well as trees down, including one tree on a house on South Maple Street. Police said there were no injuries.
Police in Agawam and West Springfield reported both trees and power lines were down in multiple locations.
Police in East Longmeadow said about half the town had lost power due to the storms. There are also trees down in various major roadways including Allen Street, Porter Road, Chestnut Street and Kibbe Road..
In Longmeadow, police said power was out in parts of the town and trees were down throughout, including Shaker Road.
Reporters Fred Contrada, Diane Lederman, Brian Steele, Patrick Johnson, Elizabeth Roman and Sandra Constantine contributed to this story.