Thousands lose power as high winds lash Mass.

Stormy weather battered Massachusetts last night, leaving thousands without power and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado watch and gale warnings.

Jackie Barry of National Grid, said outages left about 5,000 customers in the state in the dark - including 3,000 in Quincy, 800 in Stoughton, and 450 in Norton.

NStar customers also had problems with power.

"We've had sporadic outagesall around," NStar spokesman Bill Zamparelli said, adding that the problems were probably caused by tree damage and high winds.

Zamparelli, reached by phone about 10:30 p.m., said the storm left about 120 customers without power in Medway, and 200 others lost power in Lexington.

In Medford, strong winds blew insulation off a construction site, said Deputy Fire Chief Steve Howe. "With the gusts of wind, it blew most of the stuff off the roof," Howe said.

A high wind warning remained in effect until early this morning.

ERIN AILWORTH