A wet microburst tore through Andover and Lawrence today, knocking down trees and ripping a hole in a building, officials said.
“We think that there was probably a wet microburst in that area,” said Bob Thompson, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Taunton. “Looked like North Street in Andover was probably the area most impacted.”
The weather event happened about 5:25 p.m., and it reportedly produced hail the size of quarters. No injuries were reported, Thompson said.
A microburst is when there’s a downward acceleration from a strong thunderstorm. A wet microburst is when there’s heavy precipitation, Thompson explained.
In this case, public safety officials in Andover and Lawrence said trees were downed and a hole was ripped open in the building at 94 Glenn St. in Lawrence, which is near North Street in Andover.
“Generally you encounter strong winds either just ahead, or as you’re getting the heavy rain,” Thompson said. “It sometimes can have a roaring sound like a tornado.”
Wet microbursts tend to be heavily localized — if it doesn’t go through your neighborhood, you probably won’t know it happened, Thompson said.
“We get a number of these every summer,” he said.
Yesterday’s storm flared up in Central Worcester County and grew stronger as it went across the Chelmsford area. It traveled through Essex County and eventually crossed the mouth of the Merrimack River in Newburyport, then dissipated over the ocean, Thompson said.
National Grid reported on their Web site that one customer in Andover was without power, along with 42 in Lawrence and eight in Methuen.
Forecasters are now on the lookout for overnight flooding, Thompson said.
