Severe thunderstorms moved through the Acton area Friday afternoon September 8, causing significant damage throughout the area, particularly Acton Center through West Acton, along with sections of Boxborough, Littleton, Stow and Maynard. The Acton police received numerous reports of trees fallen on homes and power lines in the Patriots Hill neighborhood outside Acton Center and in sections of West Acton. Cars were detoured in front of the Woman’s Club building at 502 Main St. and on Concord Road. In Boxborough, sections of Burroughs Road were closed due to trees and lines down.
The Town of Acton kept residents informed through the Town and library websites, through social media, and through its texting and online newsflash or Civicalerts service. They reported that as of 9 pm Friday, more than 5,100 customers in Acton (or 49 percent) remained without power. More than fifty locations in Acton had power lines affected by falling trees and limbs, and a number of roads remained closed. Twelve houses were impacted by falling trees and limbs. There were no known injuries. The Boston Globe reported Friday night that the storm had been a microburst, defined by the National Weather Service as “a localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm…usually less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter.”
On Saturday morning, the Town reported that two thousand Eversource customers were without power. On Saturday night there were still more than one thousand without power, and Eversource had sixty crews working in town. On Sunday, there were still forty Eversource crews in town, and Acton’s Department of Public Works crews were clearing debris from roadways. The Town announced that the Transfer Station would be open for storm debris disposal only, on Sunday and Monday Sept. 10 and 11. On Saturday, Acton Memorial Library ran on a backup generator and with limited service, and the Acton Citizen’s Library was open.
On Sunday, September 10, Acton was affected by another thunderstorm. Traffic was backed up in Kelley’s Corner and West Acton due to flooded roads and closed railroad crossings.
