Hail, high winds rip through Southeastern Mass.

Firefighter Eric Arruda was lifting trees off power lines during the storms that ravaged his hometown of Acushnet yesterday when his father called: A tree had fallen through the roof of Arruda's home on Lake Street.

"There's about a 2-foot-in-diameter tree, about 80 feet high, and the wind just took it down," Arruda said. "There are about six branches sticking into the living area."

Fierce winds reaching 100 miles per hour and hail caused severe damage in a number of communities in Southeastern Massachusetts yesterday afternoon. No one was reported injured, however.

The storms began at around noon and lasted almost five hours, according to the National Weather Service.

At about 1 p.m., hail was first reported in Wellfleet. A half-hour later, "golf ball-sized" hail was also reported in nearby Eastham.

In Taunton, Jackson Street was closed because of trees blocking the road. Six inches of water flooded several streets in Wellfleet Center as well as Route 6.

The thunderstorms culminated with a microburst in Acushnet, with winds up to 100 miles per hour, that knocked out power to the east side of town. The high winds were tracked from New Bedford reservoir, north of Lake Street, to the Main Street and Derry Hill Road section of Acushnet, according to the National Weather Service Taunton bureau.

The bureau received reports of "golf ball-sized" hail about 1 mile north of Acushnet at 3:30 p.m., said Hayden Frank, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

"These storms were moving pretty quickly, so it probably didn't last more than a few minutes," Frank said last night.

At about 4 p.m., the Weather Service reported that the window of a taxi in Marion was damaged by hail. Roads were blocked in Mattapoisett and "penny-sized" hail was reported in the Pocasset section of Bourne.

During the storm, Acushnet saw severe winds and hail.

Arruda, 30, said no one was home when the tree fell on his house. He said his wife was shocked when she saw the damage. The couple, who bought the home a few years ago, are staying with his parents until the damage can be assessed and repaired.

"I've lived in Acushnet all my life," Arruda said. "I've never seen a storm like that."