High Wind — Western Middlesex, Massachusetts

2006-02-17 · Western Middlesex, Massachusetts

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front swept across southern New England from late Friday morning through the afternoon hours of 17 February 2006, producing high winds across most of Massachusetts. Southwest winds sustained between 20 and 30 MPH with gusts to around 60 MPH were common during this event. These winds brought down numerous trees, power poles, and wires across the state. Some of the downed trees landed on buildings and cars. One known fatality and three known injuries directly resulted from this high wind event.Part of a roof was torn off a car dealership building on Main Street in Greenfield, off an industrial building at Pleasant and Main Streets in Ashland, and off the sixteenth floor of the Green Building on the MIT campus in Cambridge. A utility pole was uprooted on River Road in Whately, on Wildwood Ave in Woburn, on Willow Road in Lynn, and on Rocky Hill Road in Hadley. Several utility poles came down in Lowell, 3 utility poles came down in Hubbardston, and one pole came down on Route 110 in Amesbury. In South Hadley, a large tree limb fell on the Mount Holyoke Wilder Hall dormitory then slid off to fall 4 stories and land on the ground floor entrance porch, injuring one female student. A tree fell down on a house at 110 Hastings Street in Framingham, at 258 Willis Road in Sudbury, at 3 Wildrose Drive in Andover, at 47 Sugar Hill Road and at Jackson Street in Methuen, at 110 Osgood Street in North Andover, on Monument Street in Wenham, on Trask Street in Peobody, and on Peter Hobert Driver in Hingham.In Haverhill, high winds brought down a large pine tree, which landed on the passenger side of a vehicle. The tree nearly cut the vehicle in half, critically injuring the 37 year old male passenger, and minorly injuring the 27 year old female driver.During this high wind event, the Bedford Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) measured a sustained wind of 44 MPH at 12:53 PM and a peak wind gust of 58 MPH at 12:52 PM. The Fitchburg ASOS measured a sustained wind of 44 MPH at 12:22 PM and a peak wind gust of 60 MPH at 1221 PM. The Beverly ASOS measured a sustained wind of 43 MPH at 1:06 PM and a peak wind gust of 58 MPH at 1:06 PM. The Boston ASOS measured a sustained wind of 48 MPH at 1:15 PM and a peak wind gust of 58 MPH at 1:15 PM. The Blue Hill Observatory ASOS measured a sustained wind of 45 MPH at 11:53 AM.One known fatality occurred when a tree fell on a pickup truck in Billerica, crushing the truck and the 46 year old man inside.In summary, this high wind event of 17 February 2006 caused lots of damage across Massachusetts, including 1 fatality and 3 known injuries across the state.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5489684. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.