National Weather Service Confirms Microburst Hit Ipswich And Hollis, NH

BOSTON (CBS) – National Weather Service officials have confirmed it was a microburst that hit Ipswich Saturday evening and caused serious damage.

Officials said the wind from the microburst that struck about 5:30 p.m. reached 80-90 mph.

A National Weather Service team confirmed Sunday afternoon that Hollis, N.H., was also hit by a microburst Saturday.  That microburst had maximum wind speed of 110 mph and traveled a mile in a 200-yard path.

On Sunday, the NWS also confirmed microbursts struck Leyden and Bernardston.

Weather service teams returned to the North Shore and parts of Worcester and Franklin counties Sunday to examine storm damage. They also went to Hollis and Pelham, N.H., to look at damage to determine if it was caused by a tornado.

Tornado warnings were issued for parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Saturday during the height of the severe thunderstorms that rolled through in the late afternoon and evening.

Kim Buttrick of the National Weather Service said the main impact of the storms came from the winds and numerous lightning strikes.

At the peak of the storms in Ipswich, 2,000 Ipswich Electric Light Department customers lost power. A lightning strike also partially damaged Ipswich Police radio communications.

Ipswich officials said the storms cut a line of damage through the town, with several trees down, more than 60 roads at least partially blocked, and some homes damaged.

According to Ipswich police, some people were still without power Sunday afternoon due to electrical lines taken down by debris and falling trees and tree limbs.

Two women swimming at Crane Beach in Ipswich on Saturday afternoon were struck by lightning as the storms hit. Officials said they apparently were not able to get out of the water fast enough.

Their names have not been released but Ipswich police identified them as a 69-year-old woman from Concord and a 61-year-old woman from North Grosvenor Dale, Conn.

Both were pulled from the water with no pulse.  They were resuscitated and were in critical condition Sunday at Mass. General Hospital.

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