Massachusetts

Lightning Strikes Tree, Causes Electrical Damage to Westborough Home

A lightning strike caused some damage to a Massachusetts home after it made a tree topple over onto the property's living room.

Lightning struck a tree near a Westborough home and caused the tree to slam right into the house. The incident happened at a residence on Hundreds Road at about 2:30 a.m. Monday.

Homeowner Lowell Ackerman said he woke up to the loud noise.

"It really sounded, really more like an explosion," recalled Ackerman. "We thought it was thunder or a truck rumbling down the street or whatever. We just got up to check and that's when we saw the back of the house - the windows were blown out. There was glass all over the floor."

Photos of the scene show a completely shattered window in Ackerman's living room. Debris from the tree could also be seen scattered across the home's yard and porch.

In the backyad, pieces of a giant tree were turned into shrapnel... the trunk ripped up by the roots. The cover of a cable box in the front yard was also in pieces with its underground wires fried and exposed.

"The fire department was here and they seem to think it was either lightning that struck the box first or hit the tree and traveled underground to the box," said Ackerman.

Neighbor Patrick O'Donnell said some of the debris landed on his back deck and also damaged his shed and trampoline.

"Looked out the window and I seen a really huge piece of lumber sitting on my deck," recalled O'Donnell. "If that thing would've went through my house, I got a little kid sleeping upstairs, you know... it turned out OK."

Authorities said the incident caused electrical damage in Ackerman's house. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

NBC10 Boston meteorologists issued a First Alert last week that warned of isolated thunderstorms throughout interior New England.

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