Storm Cleanup Continues A Day After Microburst Strikes Four Towns

DRACUT (CBS) – Storm cleanup continued Sunday night a day after a microburst struck three Massachusetts communities and one New Hampshire town.

Microbursts struck Ipswich, Leyden and Bernardston, according to the National Weather Service. Several other communities reported downed trees and flooding. A microburst also struck Hollis, New Hampshire.

Eric Ibell, a father of six, said he was emptying a trash barrel at work when he got struck by lightning.

"The pain was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I couldn't wish it on anybody in my life," he told WBZ-TV. "I was hit in the thumb here and it traveled up my arm. My whole arm went numb, but I have some nerve damage inside my right shoulder that I have to have checked," he said.

Ibell said he was counting his blessings and realized he could have died.

Two women who were struck by lightning at Crane Beach remained in critical condition Sunday at Massachusetts General Hospital.

In Lowell, the Thorndike Factory Outlet smokestack was struck by lightning, knocking several bricks off it.

In Dracut, the wind knocked out power for hours and snapped trees. Jim Mitropoulos spent the day cleaning three large oak trees from his parent's yard.

"I got very lucky cause the truck was parked in the driveway and it just acted like a bridge. Two [trees were] over the [truck]. A little of the brush just touched the truck so, a couple little scratches but that's it," Mitropoulos said.

Mitropoulos said the neighborhood was lucky to have dodged any major structural damage.

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