High Wind — Southern Bristol, Massachusetts

2023-02-03 · Southern Bristol, Massachusetts

Event narrative

Winds generally were gusting to 50 to 60 mph. At 737 PM EST, the ASOS at New Bedford Airport (KEWB) recorded a gust to 54 mph. In Freetown at 545 PM EST, a tree was down on Route 24, causing damage to the front window of a bus. In New Bedford at 546 PM EST, power lines were down on Wood Street near Baylies Street...and at 806 PM EST a tree was down on a house near Adams Street. In Fall River at 836 PM EST, multiple trees were down. In Westport at 915 PM EST, a tree was down on Cummings Lane at Horseneck Road and a large tree was down on Tickle Road.

Wider weather episode

A major Arctic cold front blasted through southern New England on the morning of March 3rd. It was followed by a few rounds of strong and locally damaging wind gusts. Temperatures plunged to 10 to 20 below zero on the morning of March 4th. The -10F reading at Boston's Logan Airport was the coldest there since 1957. There were numerous instances of burst pipes due to the cold across the region, but it is impossible to quantify dollar damage. Wind chill indices reached 30 to 40 below zero across southern New England.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1080714. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.