Thunderstorms roll across the state

July 2, 2008 07:06 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Ryan Kost, Globe Correspondent, and Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

The boomers are back. Thunderstorms again rumbled across the state this afternoon, bringing lightning, rain, hail, and gusty winds.

The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings and urged people to go indoors when the storms approached.

In a close call in Gloucester, a group from a day camp run by Gordon College was using a climbing wall as the storm approached. Counselors brought the children to a safe location and were retrieving the climbing gear when lightning struck a tree about 15 feet away from three of them, said Kristin Schwabauer, a college spokeswoman.

The three counselors went to the hospital to get checked out. Two have been released; one is being monitored, Schwabauer said.

Hail was reported in numerous communities, including Medway, Woburn, Wellesley, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, and Belmont. Wind damage was reported in Cambridge and Watertown.

Lightning strikes from the storms were blamed for a fire in Marlborough and a fire in Peabody at the Highlands at Dearborn, the same complex where a devastating blaze hit on May 29. Lightning may also have caused a three-alarm blaze on Broadway in Arlington.

Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Foley said the weather should quiet down this evening.