The National Weather Service in Boston confirmed that Thursday's severe weather produced a microburst in central Massachusetts.
The weather service said it surveyed damage Thursday in Warwick, Orange, Athol and the northern part of Salem. They concluded that a microburst with wind speeds estimated at 90 mph occurred in Warwick.
A microburst is a particularly strong downrush of winds that is less than 2-1/2 miles in length, which often results in straight line wind damage. They can cause extensive damage and in some cases be life-threatening.
Based on radar data and damage reports, the microburst began a couple miles to the southwest in Erving around 3:05 p.m., where numerous trees were downed on North Shore Road near Laurel Lake. More downed trees occurred at a campground east of Quarry Road.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
The most extensive damage by far occurred on Wendel Road east of the campground and on Hockanum Road and the Hockanum Hill section of Warwick, the National Weather Service said.
There were more than 100 trees downed, mainly pine trees that were snapped midway up and at the top, with other trees uprooted. Local fire departments said a couple of homes were struck by fallen trees, one of which suffered damage. Many power lines were downed as well, but no injuries were reported.
Trees fell in the same direction, from southwest to northeast, the weather service said, which is indicative of straight line winds.
The National Weather Service said there were other scattered reports of tree damage in Franklin and Worcester counties as a result of the severe storms that moved through the area. But the damage and radar data indicates the winds in those areas were not as strong.
Tornado warnings were issued in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont during the height of Thursday afternoon's severe weather.
Widespread damage was reported across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine as a result of the storms. In Maine, a 9-year-old girl died after she was struck by a fallen tree.
Thursday's severe thunderstorms came after confirmed EF-1 tornadoes touched down in both New Hampshire and Vermont earlier this week.
