A tree limb smashed in the cab on Mark Moulton's truck.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A severe thunderstorm hammered parts of North and Central County on Tuesday night, downing trees and limbs and leaving more than 8,000 customers without power.
The Berkshires, Eastern New York and parts of Southern Vermont were under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. on Tuesday. The storm came through shortly after 6 p.m. with thunder and lightning and torrential rain.
Alerts and calls began streaming into dispatch and fire and police departments began calling in extra help.
When the rain let, the full extent of the damage could be seen — from uprooted century-old trees to scatterings of debris across streets and lawns.
As of 8:30, Brooklyn, Hoosac, Meadow, North Eagle just above Hospital Avenue were closed and the lower section of North Eagle was limited to one-way traffic. Trees were also down on Holbrook, Chestnut and Hall.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey had been getting a close-up look at the damage and speaking with residents.
"I've been trying to hit as many streets as I can so I have couple more streets to hit before I call it a night," the mayor said just before 9 p.m.
She said the city had mobilized the Fire and Police departments, Department of Public Services and Wire & Alarm.
"It's all hands on deck," said Macksey. "They are all doing the best they can ... we've got a lot poles that are split or leaning. But we have no reports of any injuries. ...
"It's a little bit of a mess out there."
National Grid was dealing with a townwide outage in Williamstown after trees and wires came down on Main Street. The utility was having to clear the way before it could power the lines back up.
That was delaying its response to other communities. Macksey said the city's crews couldn't do much about the tree limbs tangled in wire. until National Grid dealt with the power. However, there was no flooding in this storm unlike a year ago when torrential rains undermined and washed out roads around the city.
Two large tree limbs came down on Brooklyn Street, taking down wires and shutting off power to about half the street. Neighbors were out estimating how long it might take to clear.
Mary Lou Accetta said the street holds a block party every year. "We just didn't think it would be this early," she laughed.
The storm was more frightening for Mark Moulton, who had a close encounter with a very big tree limb. Moulton said he was mowing the lawn at the house he owns on River Street and could see the dark clouds moving toward the city.
He finished up, put the lawn mower in the back of his truck and was backing up when the tree limb came crashing down on the truck and a car parked next to him.
Debris in Williamstown. The storm took out power in the town and along Route 7. About 3,000 customers aren't expected to have power early Wednesday morning.
"I saw it coming and was like 'stop!'" he said. The tree limb smashed the back driver's side of the extend cab and caved in the roof. Moulton had to get out on the driver's side, shaken and a little bruised. He said if he'd been backed up another foot or so, it would have dropped right on him.
Williamstown Police posted on Facebook that the storm left large parts of town without power and did severe damage to trees and electric poles.
"National grid is currently out working to restore power, but it may be sometime before this process is complete and dispatch is unable to provide time estimates," the department wrote. "Come morning, if you see powerlines down or trees in the roadway, please call dispatch so we can confirm that it is a location already on our list to be addressed. We have also been made aware of some issues with cell signal, but we are unable to provide any information regarding that issue. Our thanks to Williamstown, MA Fire District and the Williamstown DPW staff for their quick responses and assistance on the many calls being addressed."
Lanesborough and Cheshire Fire Departments asked residents to stay home and give them time to clear the roads. Drivers were asked to avoid Goodell and Miner streets in Lanesborough and downed trees in Clarksburg, including blocking Town Hall and Middle Road, and Stamford, Vt., forced residents to detour.
The Stamford Fire Department posted on Facebook that "there is a tremendous amount of damage throughout the community. Some roads are blocked. Some power poles are broken and the whole town is without power. Town highway, State Highway, Green Mountain Power, the Vermont State police and the fire department are working to resolve the situations as quickly as possible. If you have an emergency, we asked that you call 911."
Dalton reported multiple road closures including Old Windsor Road from the high school to Johnson when a large tree took down about 200 feet of wire. Trees were also reported down along Route 8.
"We had several thousand without power," said Pittsfield's Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales.
He said the city was responding quickly to the damage but there were trees down on Springside Avenue between Brown Street and upper Parker Street, on Lincoln Street, North Street and Hancock Road and along a dozen other less traveled locations and smaller trees.
Two large ones, one on 2nd St and one on Springside Avenue will take some more time to remove.
There is a marginal to slight risk for severe thunderstorms for most of the region Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y. Thunderstorms may produce isolated to scattered instances of downed trees, tree limbs and power outages due to damaging wind gusts.
Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov for more information about the following hazards.
Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.
Staff writers Brittany Polito and Sabrina Damms contributed to this report.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Colegrove Park Recognized as Top 10 School Statewide in Attendance
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Superintendent Barbara Malkas, left, Colegrove Principal Amy Meehan, Mayor Jennifer Macksey and Dean of Students Jonathan Slocum pose with the Celtics basketball award on Friday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year.
Tim Connor, assistant director for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's west and central district, arrived with a gold basketball signed by the champion team to reward the students for their achievement.
"An award like this doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of work from all of you, the students, the parents, and especially Ms. Meehan and her wonderful staff, so a big round of applause," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey, after leading the assembly in the gym to chants of "Colegrove rocks!" "I am so proud of this school and the community that all of you have built. So everyone should be really excited about today, and this is an excellent way to start your school."
Superintendent Barbara Malkas asked last year's fifth-graders at Colegrove to join her at the front of the gym for a special applause.
"When we track attendance of all the students in the whole district, these students have the highest attendance rate, the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the entire district," Malkas said. "While all Colegrove students have been recognized as attendance all-stars, these students led the way in being attendance all-stars, so let's give them one more round of applause."
Colegrove switched this year to house Grades 3 to 6, so some of the younger students who helped earn the award are now at Brayton Elementary. However, all three elementary schools open last year saw improvement in attendance.
Schools statewide have been working to reduce chronic absenteeism — the percentage of students missing 10 percent of the school year, or 18 days — which peaked during the pandemic.
Last week, the nonprofit held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 900-square-foot wooden structure with a full foundation and a composting toilet. The excavation process began this week, and completion is expected in 2026.
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The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year. click for more