Power Outage in Pittsfield, MA

Downed power lines and half inch diameter hail was reported.

A tree was downed onto power lines on Stony Brook Road off Monument Valley Road near the Town of Great Barrington, leading to some power outages.

Power lines were reported down in New Marlborough due to thunderstorm winds.

A National Weather Service Storm Survey determined that a microburst occurred in the Greenridge section of Dalton. Most of the direct damage from the microburst was to several hardwood and softwood trees, although one roof was partially lifted up on a house as a result of the wind as well. Newspaper media reported that at least twenty trees were downed in the area and power lines were downed as well. Minor damage to homes, mainly due to falling trees, occurred at least six residences. An EF1 tornado also occurred nearby, but the majority of the damage was attributed to the microburst.

A tree was downed and on power lines on Mountain Road in Lanesborough due to thunderstorm winds.

Trees, power lines and a power pole were reported down due to strong thunderstorm winds in Pittsfield.

Trees down on power lines.

A low pressure area developed in the Mississippi valley by late on January 2. The storm then tracked northward into the southern Ohio Valley, then rapidly redeveloped along the Mid Atlantic seaboard on January 3. Slowly, it moved to just east of Cape Cod by late on January 4. With plenty of cold air in place the stage was set for another snowstorm across the Berkshires. Although this storm was not as powerful as the Christmas Day storm, it moved very slowly and actually produced some heavier snowfall across Berkshire County. Light snow began falling early on the January 3, then it became heavier and steadier as the day wore on. A general one to two foot mantle of fresh snow was reported across the county. Dalton reported 13.9 inches and Savoy reported 23.2 Despite the heavy snow, no unusual problems were reported to the National Weather Service.

A strong nor'easter developed off Cape Hatteras on November 16. The low pressure center then slowly moved north along the coast, reaching Cape Cod by late November 17. At the same time, a shallow layer of arctic air bled south from eastern Canada. This air was cold enough to produce a significant mix of wintry precipitation during a good portion of the storm across the Berkshires. Initially the precipitation fell primarily as snow across the county, with 1-3 inches of accumulation reported. As warmer air moved in overhead, the precipitation changed to sleet, then freezing rain. Freezing rain produced a coating of ice less than half an inch thick on most surfaces. The combination of the snow, sleet and ice, winds gusting over 30 mph, and the fact that some trees still had leaves on them, resulted in some downed trees and powerlines. There were spotty power outages and poor travel conditions associated with the storm as well. Temperatures finally rose above freezing later on Sunday morning, putting an end to the winter storm. Some minor snowfall accumulations were noted on the back side of the storm late on Sunday into early Monday.

Just as western Massachusetts had recovered from the big snowstorm, another nor'easter moved up the coast, forming off the Jersey coast early on March 9th, and reaching Cape Cod shortly after midnight. This storm was not nearly as powerful as its predecessor, nor did it include as much moisture. Snowfall amounts were somewhat elevation dependent and the snow had a high moisture content. A 6-12 inch swath of snow fell across Berkshire county. Specific amounts included 7 inches at Lanesboro, 10 at West Otis and 11.5 in the town of Florida.

An area of low pressure developed across the Tennessee Valley late on December 11th. The storm then rapidly deepened as it moved northeast into the Ohio Valley, Saint Lawrence Valley and eventually across the Canadian Maritimes on December 12th. The pressure difference between this intensifying storm and large arctic high pressure building over the Southeast, produced a significant high wind event across Berkshire county on December 12th. The strongest winds with the storm came after the passage of the cold front, during the midday hours. A strong westerly wind brought down large limbs, trees and powerlines across all of the county. The hardest hit areas were Lanesboro and Stockbridge. A large tree fell on a house in Becket.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across the region as a frontal system pushed through. A few of these storms became severe downing trees and power lines.

A line of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds pushed through western Massachusetts during the evening hours of March 7, 2022 resulting in numerous reports of downed trees and powerlines. Around 1,900 customers lost power.

Warm and muggy conditions were in place across western Massachusetts on Saturday, October 16, 2021 in which an approaching cold front produced a narrow cold-frontal rain band with embedded thunderstorms that swept eastward across the region. At times, this band produced strong winds resulting in localized wind damage.||There were one area of extensive wind damage, which occurred in and around Dalton. A National Weather Service Storm Survey confirmed a two-mile path of occasional wind damage with maximum estimated winds of 90 mph. Numerous trees were downed across the region, some of which fell onto homes and cars. Damage occurred to structures along the path as well. The local utility company reported roughly 1000 customers without power as a result of the storm.

A couple of severe thunderstorms pushed across western Massachusetts during the evening hours of Thursday, July 29, 2021 along a warm front and area of low pressure, downing trees and power lines as a result. These thunderstorms also produced a brief period of heavy rainfall, leading to some minor flooding across the region.

A couple of thunderstorms progressed from west to east across western Massachusetts ahead of an approaching cold front from the north during the afternoon hours on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Damaging winds associated with these storms led to downed trees and power lines with the Town of Lenox being the area hardest hit. Two microbursts were confirmed in the Town of Lenox.

A high-end severe weather event unfolded across the Northeast on Wednesday October 7, 2020. A line of thunderstorms originated across New York state and moved eastward into New England during the afternoon hours, producing widespread damage. Over a dozen reports occurred across Berkshire County. Both the Harriman-and-West and Pittsfield Municipal airports measured a wind gust of 60 mph as the line moved through. One man was killed when a tree fell onto him on a golf cart at the Wyantenuck Country Club. This event was classified as a serial derecho based on the 320 mile long damage swath and distribution of significant wind gusts (75 mph and above). The fact that trees across the region were fully leafed exacerbated the resulting wind damage and produced widespread power outages. There were over 2,500 power outages across western Massachusetts.

A cold front crossed western Massachusetts on the 6th, bringing and end to a four-day heat wave. This front sparked a broken line of thunderstorms during the afternoon as it interacted with the hot and humid airmass. Some of these storms became severe, resulting in scattered reports of wind damage. Around 1400 customers lost power in due to the storms, and a few schools delayed closing until the storms passed.

Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening of August 8th. One of these storms resulted in downed power lines.

A hot and humid air mass was in place across the region. This also provided an unstable environment for strong to severe thunderstorms to form ahead of a cold front passage during the afternoon and evening hours of June 18th. The storms caused numerous trees and power lines to be knocked down.

A powerful low pressure system formed on May 4th, pushing a strong cold front across New York and New England. A line of thunderstorms developed along this front and tracked into Western Massachusetts in the evening, resulting in several reports of downed trees in the Pittsfield area.

A cold front tracked east across western Massachusetts during the afternoon hours of Monday, June 19th, 2017. With a warm and unstable air mass in place, the frontal passage sparked numerous showers and thunderstorms across the area. Some of these thunderstorm were severe, knocking down trees and power lines.

A mild and humid air mass was in place over western Massachusetts during the early morning hours on Sunday, September 11th. A cold front was crossing through the region around sunrise and a potent line of thunderstorms accompanied the passage of this boundary. Some of these storms were severe, producing damaging winds to trees and power lines. The thunderstorms didn't last long, but produced a swath of damage across Berkshire County.

On the morning of Saturday, August 13th, a warm front lifted northward across the region. This allowed a very warm and excessively humid air mass to be in place over the area. ||Late in the day, a surface cold front was approaching the area from the west. An organized line of thunderstorms moved from west to east across all of eastern Upstate New York and crossed western Massachusetts during the evening hours. These storms produced gusty winds, which caused damage to some trees and power lines. ||In addition to the gusty winds, the thunderstorms also produced a significant amount of cloud-to-ground lightning. Numerous power outages were reported across the region as a result of the thunderstorms. ||Thunderstorms ended with the passage of the cold front during the overnight hours.

With a warm and humid air mass in place, scattered thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours on Friday, August 12th. Although these thunderstorms had little upper level support, one of the thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts to trees and power lines.

A warm and unstable air mass was in place over western Massachusetts ahead of an advancing cold front on Monday, July 18th. Short lines of thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon hours and moved eastward across the region. ||Some of these thunderstorms became severe, producing damaging wind gusts to trees and power lines. The most significant damage occurred in the town of Cheshire, where power was knocked out to around 1300 customers. Most of the power outages were restored by the evening hours.||Thunderstorms ended with the passage of the cold front during the evening hours.

A very warm and humid air mass was in place over western Massachusetts during the day on Sunday, May 29th. Although strong upper level ridging was initially in place over the area, an upper level trough started to approach from the west, with a surface cold front moving towards the area from Canada. ||During the afternoon hours, bands of slow moving showers and thunderstorms broke out over the Berkshires and slowly moved northeast. Due to the slow movement of these thunderstorms, heavy rainfall repeatedly fell over the same area in the Lee and Stockbridge portions of Berkshire County. This resulted in flash flooding occurring across the area, as some roads were temporarily closed due to being covered by water and debris. The flooding was so significant in Stockbridge that town officials declared a state of emergency. Spotters measured up to five inches of rainfall falling in just a few hours. ||In addition, the thunderstorms produced gusty winds. This downed some trees and power lines across the area as well.||With the loss of daytime heating, showers and thunderstorms ended by the evening hours and the weather was quiet into the overnight hours. This allowed water to quickly recede across the region.

A moist and unstable air mass ahead of an advancing cold front led to the developing of thunderstorms during the early afternoon hours on Tuesday, June 9th across eastern New York. As the thunderstorms organized into small lines, some of the thunderstorms produced wind damage, mainly to trees and power lines. These thunderstorms reached western Massachusetts by the mid afternoon hours and produced a report of wind damage in Richmond.||Thunderstorms ended over the region by the late afternoon, as the cold front crossed the region from west to east.

Ahead of an approaching cold front, a warm and humid air mass was in place over western Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 19th. As the cold front approached during the early evening hours, a few scattered showers and thunderstorms developed and moved from west to east across the region. Some of the thunderstorms became severe, producing damaging winds to trees and power lines. ||The threat for thunderstorms ended by the late evening hours, as the cold front passed through the region and drier air moved into the area.

A warm and humid air mass was in place over western Massachusetts during the afternoon and evening hours on Monday, July 7th, which allowed the atmosphere to become quite unstable. As an upper level shortwave trough moved towards the area, clusters of thunderstorms developed over eastern New York and moved into western Massachusetts by the evening hours. These thunderstorms, although not overly tall, were able to bring very strong winds aloft down to the surface, producing damaging wind gusts to trees and power lines. The threat for severe thunderstorms ended by the late evening hours, as the shortwave trough moved east of the region.

A warm and humid air mass was in place over the region on Thursday, July 3rd. As a strong cold front approached from the west, a broken line of thunderstorms developed over upstate New York and moved eastward during the late afternoon hours. Aided by powerful winds aloft, the storms moved from west to east over western Massachusetts during the early evening hours. A few of the storms produced gusty winds and large hail, especially across southern Berkshire County. In addition, the storms produced heavy rainfall in a short period of time. This lead to some flooding across the urbanized parts of the Berkshires as well. ||As the cold front moved through the area by later in the evening, the storms moved east of the region and the threat for severe weather ended.

A warm southerly flow allowed for temperatures to reach well into the 80s to near 90 on Wednesday, July 2nd. In addition, it was rather humid with dewpoints nearing 70 degrees. With the warm and humid conditions in place, the atmosphere became quite unstable during the afternoon and evening hours. ||Well ahead of a cold front, a surface trough was in place across upstate New York and western New England. This caused thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon hours. A few of these storms became severe, producing wind damage to trees and power lines. In addition, the very humid air mass in place gave the storms the capability of producing very heavy rainfall in a short period of time. This allowed for one of the storms to produce flash flooding in the Pittsfield area, making travel difficult. ||These storms ended by the late evening hours, as nocturnal influences helped wane the development of additional thunderstorms.

Ahead of a slow moving cold front, a southerly flow transported plenty of moisture into the region during the day on Tuesday, June 3rd. With a moist and unstable air mass in place, plenty of slow moving showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of the approaching boundary. Some of these thunderstorms produced very heavy rain in a short period of time. This led to some flash flooding, especially in urban and poor drainage areas. In addition, a few of the thunderstorms also produced strong wind gusts, which caused damage to trees and power lines. By the late evening, the threat for thunderstorms ended, as the frontal boundary pushed through and less humid air moved into the region.

A powerful storm system moved from the Great Lakes region towards southern Canada on the early morning of Friday, November 1st. As the storm's cold front moved across the region during the morning hours, a line of convective heavy rain showers and embedded thunderstorms and gusty winds accompained the boundary. Although the extent of thunder was rather limited, the line produced damaging winds in Berkshire County. The threat for severe thunderstorms ended by the late morning as the front pushed east of the area.

Ahead of a strong cold front, a southerly flow allowed for a warm and humid air mass to move into the region. Temperatures were quite warm for early October, with temperatures reaching well into the 60s. As a cold front moved across the region during the afternoon hours on October 7th, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved from west to east. Strong winds accompanied these showers and thunderstorms, with widespread reports of trees and power lines downed as a result of the thunderstorm winds. There were about 1,700 power outages in western Massachusetts as a result of the thunderstorms. With the passage of the cold front late in the afternoon, the winds switched to a westerly direction as cooler air moved into the region, and the severe threat ended as storms moved eastward and away from the area.

During the day on May 29th, a warm front lifted northward across western Massachusetts. Although the day began cloudy, some breaks of sun started to occur by early afternoon. At the same time, a potent upper level disturbance over Ontario started to approach the region and a strong jet streak was located just to the north. With a moist southerly flow moving into the region at the surface, it became rather humid as well.||With all these ingredients coming together, thunderstorms developed across upstate New York by mid afternoon and began to spread eastward. The thunderstorms reached Berkshire County by the evening hours. Many of the thunderstorms organized into a strong squall line, producing wind damage. These thunderstorms produced a significant amount of lightning, as well, which in combination with the wind damage, led to some power outages across the area.||With the region already rather saturated from repeated thunderstorms over the past week, the additional heavy rainfall that occurred caused flash flooding in some areas. This caused roads to be closed due to being impassable by flowing water. Portions of Williamstown were hit quite hard, as at least eight roads were damaged due to flooding. Two homes were without road access as a result of the flooding.||Thunderstorms pushed east of the area by around midnight, ending the threat of severe weather.

A very warm and humid air mass was in place across western Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 21st. A slow moving frontal boundary was situated just north of the area across the Saint Lawrence River Valley along the United States-Canadian border. During the day, a wave of low pressure moved along this boundary, allowing the boundary to slowly push southward towards the area. With strong wind shear aloft and plenty of low level moisture in place, thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across eastern New York and some of these moved into western Massachusetts by early evening.||Thunderstorms initially formed as single cells and supercells, but eventually organized into several broken lines, which moved from west to east across the area. A few of the thunderstorms that moved across western Massachusetts produced wind damage to trees and power lines, as well as quarter-size hail.||As the surface wave of low pressure moved away and with the loss of daytime heating, thunderstorms eventually ended during the late evening hours.

A complex and powerful low pressure system moved across the region bringing damaging winds and widespread heavy rainfall. A low pressure system originating in the Deep South approached the region from the southwest during the day as a strong cold front approached from the Great Lakes region. These systems merged and moved across the northeastern United States. Moisture was transported into the region on a very strong low level jet. Rainfall totals ranged from just over an inch up to nearly three inches. Despite instability being very limited, the winds field was so strong aloft that showers and low-topped thunderstorms were able to transport strong, damaging winds to the surface, producing damage to trees and power lines.

Ample low level moisture was in place across the region ahead of a slow moving frontal boundary. Although skies were cloudy to start the day, breaks in the clouds towards the noon hour allowed for some instability to develop. With the large amount of moisture in place and an unstable atmosphere, slow moving thunderstorms formed. Some of these thunderstorms contained gusty winds, which caused damage to trees and power lines.||As thunderstorms with heavy rainfall moved over the same areas repeatedly, flash flooding occurred across portions of Berkshire County. Some areas received over four inches of rain, with the highest amount being 5.20 inches in Hancock.||Thunderstorm activity waned by evening due to the frontal boundary crossing the region.

Tropical Storm Irene tracked north northeast across eastern New York and western New England during Sunday, August 28th, producing widespread flooding, and damaging winds across the region. ||Irene tracked from a position over New York City around 8 AM EST Sunday, to approximately 10 miles west of Danbury, CT at 10 AM EST, to approximately 15 miles south of Pittsfield, MA at 1 PM EST Sunday, to approximately 65 miles south of Rutland, VT at 4 PM EST. ||The greatest impact from Irene across western Massachusetts was due to heavy to extreme rainfall, which resulted in widespread flash flooding. Rainfall amounts generally averaged 3 to 6 inches, although locally higher amounts of 6 to 9 inches occurred across extreme northern and eastern portions of the county. Much of the rain which fell occurred within a 12 hour period, beginning early Sunday morning, and ending Sunday evening. ||This heavy to extreme rainfall resulted in widespread flash flooding and river flooding across Berkshire County. In Berkshire County, widespread road closures occurred due to flooding and downed trees and power lines. Numerous evacuations also occurred, including the towns of Otis, Sandisfield, Cheshire, Adams, Williamstown, and North Adams. A debris flow was also reported in North Adams.||Furthermore, major flooding was reported on the Hoosic River at Williamstown, with moderate flooding reported on the West Branch Farmington River at New Boston and the East Branch Housatonic River at Coltsville, and minor flooding on the Housatonic River at Great Barrington. ||Strong winds also occurred across Berkshire County, with frequent wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph, along with locally stronger wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. The strongest winds occurred from the north to northeast during the morning hours, then from the west to northwest during Sunday evening. The combination of strong winds, and extremely saturated soil led to numerous downed trees and power lines across the region. This also resulted in widespread long duration power outages. ||In particular, the approximate number of customers affected by power outages included: Berkshire County, 10000.||On August 26th, 2011 an Emergency Declarartion was declared, FEMA-EM-3330. This declaration made Public Assistance available to all 14 counties in the state of Massachusetts. ||Public Assistance: assistance to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and repair or replacement if disaster-damaged facilities.

A nearly stationary frontal boundary was draped across western and northern New York State as several waves of low pressure moved easterly along the boundary. In addition, a warm front lifted northeastward across the Berkshires during the morning hours of Thursday, May 26th. The passage of the warm front ushered in a warm, humid and unstable airmass. ||A large bowing segment of thunderstorms tracked east from the Catskills and Schoharie Valley of east central New York across western New England including the Berkshires during the late evening hours. There were numerous reports of wind damage and power outages.

A low pressure system developed over the mid Atlantic region Friday night, March 12th, then moved very gradually northward to the Delmarva region over the weekend. A very strong low level jet developed to the north of the low and tapped abundant moisture. Easterly winds of 20 to 30 mph occurred with gusts up to around 50 mph. The easterly winds enhanced the precipitation across the Berkshires due to upslope effects. Precipitation totals from ranged 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches. The heavy rain, combined with snowmelt, resulted in minor flooding of urban areas and small streams. Complicating the event, colder air drained southward into the region, resulting in a wet snow across the higher terrain of the Berkshires where 2 to 3 inches accumulated above 1000 feet.||The strong and gusty winds led to numerous power outages.

On July 22, a cold front trailing southwestward through the St Lawrence Valley from a low pressure center off the Canadian maritime provinces moved through Berkshire County during the afternoon. It reached the Atlantic coast just before midnight. The cold front moved through an unstable air mass touching off afternoon thunderstorms, several of which produced severe wind gusts. Although there were several reports of trees down, one of which fell on a car along Route 183, no damage to structures, power loss or injuries was reported.

On June 6, a stationary front was oriented north to south through central New York and curved eastward south of Long Island. An unstable air mass was over western Massachusetts. An upperlevel short wave trough approached from the Great Lakes. Widespread thunderstorms broke outaround noon across eastern New York. They were more widely scattered in western New England.But a thunderstorms in the middle of the afternoon produced damaging wind gusts. Trees and powerlines were brought down in northern Berkshire County. And a picnic table was blown through aplate glass window at Lanesboro.

A strong cold front, moving across western Massachussetts during the afternoon of August 22 touched off scattered thunderstorms. One of the storms became severe as winds were strong enough to bring down trees in Great Barrington. In Housatonic, trees and powerlines were blown down.

A large upper air trough dug across the western Great Lakes on Monday, July 21. At the surface, a deep low pressure area moved across the eastern Great Lakes, driving a warm front across western New England during the evening hours. The air became very unstable in the warm air mass behind the front. The remnants of the second line of storms from eastern New York moved into Berkshire County during the evening. Winds from severe thunderstorms knocked down numerous trees and some power lines in the towns of Lenox Dale, Lanesborough, Pittsfield, Stockbridge, West Otis and Williamstown. A tree and wires fell on a top of a vehicle in Pittsfield, temporarily trapping the driver inside, who was unharmed. The storm knocked out power to an estimated one thousand customers.

During the afternoon and evening of Friday, May 31, a strong cold front clashed with a very unstable air mass across western Massachussetts. In addtion, there were strong divergent winds aloft. All of these parameters set the stage for severe weather across Berkshire County. All of the reports were of wind damage. Numerous trees and some power lines were blown down in the cities of Becket, Lanesborough, Lenox, Otis, Stockbridge and Williamstown.

A powerful cold front, combined with a strong upper level disturbance to produce widespread thunderstorms across Berkshire County during the afternoon of July 1. One of the storms became severe as winds from it blew down trees in Cheshire, Savoy and North Adams. A possible mircroburst hit the town of Adams with a concentrated area of damage centered around a home on Burlingame Hill Road. At one residence, the wind destroyed a carport, flattening a garage which crushed a car parked inside. Debris from the carport was blown up to 270 yards away. In addition, an aluminum and glass greenhouse was shattered and strewn about. The storms knocked out power to about 2,500 customers in Berkshire County.

A complex storm system began to evolve on Saturday December 16 across the Mississippi Valley. A surface low tracked north into the Eastern Great Lakes by December 17. At the same time, the associated upper level trough became negatively tilted as it moved toward the northeast on Sunday. This allowed for rapid cyclogenesis. Unseasonably warm and moist air was transported northward from the Gulf of Mexico. This scenario brought a record breaking rainstorm to Western Massachussetts. At the same time, the airmass became unstable enough for widepsread thunderstorm development. There were very strong winds aloft. Two of the storms transported those strong winds to the surface, and became severe. One storm produced downed wires in the towns of Pittsfield and Berkshire. In addition, tree limbs were blown down and spotty power outages took place. About two hours later, winds from another severe thunderstorm blew more trees down in the town of Berkshire The bigger problem was the heavy rainfall. Rainfall amounts were in the 2 to 4 inch range, with Dalton receiving 2.44 and Great Barrington 3.87 inches, respectively. The bulk of the rainfall was in a short interval of time, with some localites receiving an inch per hour. The excessive rainfall combined with melting snow and frozen ground, to produce massive runoff. Streets were flooded in the town of Berkshire. In Pittsfield, flooding was reported at the intersection of Lincoln and 4th Avenue. Roads were also flooded around Pittsfield Airport. The Williams River swelled just over its 6-foot flood stage at New Boston.

A powerful cold front moved across the Berkshires on June 2. The air mass was very unstable ahead of the cold front. This scenario resulted in numerous thunderstorms, a few of which became severe late Friday afternoon. Thunderstorms produced wind damage at Sheffield and the city of Pittsfield. Dime size hail also fell in Pittsfield. Nickel size hail was reported in Sheffield. Torrential rains from the thunderstorms produced flash flooding at Lenox and Pittsfield. Water as high as three feet deep was noted on roads in both towns.

A strong cold front crossed Berkshire county late on May 18. At the same time, very strong winds aloft moved over the area. The combination of the instability and lift ahead of the front, spawned a line of thunderstorms. Winds from the line were measured at 68 mph in Pittsfield and were strong enough to bring numerous trees and power lines down.