Weather

FIRST ALERT: Powerful Winds Hammer New England Friday Night After Vt. Tornado Touchdown

Severe thunderstorms were reported earlier in the day in Vermont, resulting in structural damage and injuries

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A tornado touched down Friday in Middlebury, Vermont, the National Weather Service confirmed on a night much of New England was hit by heavy wind.

The agency said the EF1 tornado hit shortly before 2 p.m. northeast of Juniper Lake. Limbs were damaged and a barrel was sent through the window of a house.

Two people were injured in the touchdown, according to weather officials.

A photo from The Historic Marble Works District taken Friday afternoon in Middlebury, Vermont

In Townsend, Massachusetts, a 1-year-old boy was injured by a falling tree while being held by his father.

A tree fell in Townsend Friday, injuring a 1-year-old being held by his father.

The wind was felt across the region. As of around 8:30 p.m., more than 27,900 Massachusetts customers were without power, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Most of them were localized in northern Worcester County.

By around midnight, that number was nearly down to 1,000.

Severe thunderstorms were reported earlier in the day in Vermont, where the National Weather Service received reports of structural damage and injuries in Middlebury.

A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for parts of Maine and New Hampshire on Friday afternoon.

Once again, we set records of 70 degrees plus in New England on Friday, even though Maine has been foggy and cool, with thunder too.

Low pressure tracking from the eastern Great Lakes to New England is strengthening Friday evening, with storms continuing north. Winds are gusting 30 to 40-plus mph and only slowly diminishing overnight.

A blustery night is on tap behind the cold frontal passage, with temperatures dropping into the 30s by daybreak as colder air filters into New England. Rain in northern Maine is changing to snow, with a couple inches in Aroostook County late Friday night. For most of us, we have much less humid and more seasonable temperatures on the way.

Saturday is by the far the pick of the weekend. Breezy winds quickly subside, with plenty of sunshine and highs reaching into the low to mid 60s.

It will feel even warmer given light winds and abundant late-March sunshine.

Clouds and widespread showers move in for Sunday as an area of low pressure approaches from the Great Lakes. Appreciable rainfall on the order of a half inch to 1 inch is expected given the current drought conditions across the region, with greater than 1 inch possible across southern New England.

Looking ahead to next week, a strong low pressure system located across the Canadian Maritimes will result in a cool and breezy Monday with highs reaching into the low 50s.

A warming trend follows into the middle of the week on the First Alert Forecast on NBC10 Boston and NECN.

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