fb-pixel Skip to main content

These videos and photos show how intense Sunday’s thunderstorms were

By Alyssa Lukpat and Caroline Enos Globe Correspondent,Updated August 23, 2020, 7:18 p.m.
Five cars were damaged at E. Eighth and Old Harbor streets in Boston Sunday afternoon when lightning brought down tree branches. Ed Moses said this car belonged to his daughter's boyfriend.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

As thunderstorms rolled into Massachusetts late Sunday afternoon and threatened flooding in Boston, images from the storm showed thunder and rain lashing parts of the state.

The storm left power outages, downed trees, and small fires in its wake. As of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, nearly 31,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to a Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency map of outages.

Several car windows were smashed in Boston as trees snapped in half.

Storm Boston, MA 8/23/2020 A storm rolled through Boston and five cars were damaged when lightning brought down tree branches at E. Eighth and Old Harbor streets. The rear window of the fifth car is shattered. (The fire department put up the yellow tape.) . (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff) Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

The storm clouded over a sunny morning in Massachusetts. The National Weather Service sent out several warnings Sunday afternoon for severe thunderstorms, flooding, and flash flooding for parts of the state, including in the Boston area.

Advertisement

Storm Boston, MA 8/23/2020 As a storm rolls through Boston, two people take shelter on a Southie beach. (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff) Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

A video from Caraline Moholland in Wakefield shows rain pounding a window Sunday afternoon as thunder boomed outside.

Drone photos from Twitter user Henry Swenson show dark clouds swirling over Topsfield as the storm rolled in around 5 p.m.

Firefighters responded to College Road in Concord after a large tree fell down on power lines during the storm. The section of College Road near Barrett’s Mill Road has since reopened, officials said.

A tree also split in half on Ballard Street in Saugus.

Drivers navigated through drenched roadways on Route 1 in Saugus Sunday afternoon as rain battered the town.

Pea-sized hail and flash flooding was reported to hit Hobson Street in Saugus as the storm moved through.

In Westwood, officials rescued several people from flooded vehicles, Westwood firefighters tweeted. Trees and power lines also fell down there during the storm.

Rainwater flooded South Spencer Road near a railroad bridge in Spencer, officials tweeted at 6:50 p.m.

A video from Wakefield showed treetops blowing in the wind, and subsequent photos showed tree roots ripped from the ground.

Some Wakefield streets had apparently flooded Sunday afternoon, and photos showed branches dangling from power lines.

Advertisement

At 4:25 p.m., lightning was seen striking the ocean off of Folly Cove in Rockport.

Lightening seen off Folly Cove in Rockport during Sunday evening's storm.David Wittkower

Dark clouds were also seen rolling in over the ocean at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester.

A video from Hull shows wind and rain lashing a pool deck and flinging a chair into the water.

Photos from Spencer police show cars partially submerged in water on flooded roads.

Alyssa Lukpat can be reached at alyssa.lukpat@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlyssaLukpat.

Boston Globe Today