Thunderstorms roll through Mass., power lines and trees down across state

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

A thunderstorm brought winds as high as 42 miles per hour through Boston Tuesday evening and left power lines and trees down across the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Most of the damage was north of Boston or in Western Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service’s storm damage map.

More than 1,957 customers were without power as of 11:47 p.m., mostly in the eastern and southwestern parts of the state, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Boston received about one-third of an inch of rain as of 7 p.m., Bill Simpson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said in a brief phone interview.

A severe thunderstorm warning for the Boston area, which was issued shortly after 5 p.m., had expired, he said.

Earlier, a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for broad swaths of the Northeast, including much of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island as a warm front is bringing stormy weather to the region. Storms were rolling through central Massachusetts by 5 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued the watch, which also included parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont as hot and humid conditions on Tuesday set the stage for scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Forecasters said some of the storms Tuesday afternoon would likely be strong to severe with damaging wind gusts and torrential downpours, according to forecasters.

The severe thunderstorm watch is in effect through 8 p.m. According to a tweet by the National Weather Service, isolated hail up to a quarter in size is possible as well as scattered wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour.

Storm watches are issued when conditions are sufficient for a storm to happen in the near future. Forecasters upgrade watches to warnings when a severe thunderstorm is imminently expected.

Scattered thunderstorms are also possible again on Wednesday afternoon and evening, forecasters said, as hot and humid air remains in the region.