The storms hit the Greater Worcester area the hardest, but were brief and had begun to recede by about 6 p.m., according to Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton. There was relatively little rain accumulation associated with the storm, Simpson said. Sutton and Douglas both reported 1.64 inches of rain, among the highest totals, he said. Trees were reported in Worcester, where one fell on a home near Ludlow and Main streets, and in Natick, where a tree fell on Fourth Street, Simpson said. The Watertown Fire Department responded to a house fire on North Beacon Street just after 4 p.m. Investigators were trying to determine whether lightning was a factor in that fire, which quickly grew to two alarms, officials said. A tree was apparently struck by lightning near the Dover-Wellesley border. The ensuing fire was extinguished by the Dover Fire Department, according to Wellesley police, who also reported lightning at a garage on Weston Road. The Auburn Fire Rescue Department responded to a report of a lightning strike near 24 Bridle Path, officials said. There was also flooding in Wellesley in areas such as Weston Road near Central Street, police said. Simpson said the storm caused flooding on urban streets in areas with poor drainage, but no actual flooding. The storms also caused power outages. There were more than 2,800 electric customers statewide without power as of about 11:45 p.m., according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s online outage map. The cold front that brought the storms will also bring an air mass with less moisture and dry conditions to the region for the weekend, making “a nice break from the [hot] weather,” Simpson said. Saturday will be sunny with highs in the 80s, and Sunday will be mostly sunny and slightly cooler, with highs in the 70s, forecasters said. Emily Sweeney of the Globe Staff contributed to this story. Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox.
