< Back to front page Text size – +

Thunderstorms rumble through the state

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 27, 2009 06:18 PM

By Globe Staff

With deafening booms, lightning, and drenching rain, thunderstorms are rumbling through Eastern Massachusetts this afternoon.

The National Weather Service said Doppler radar indicated that some areas are receiving 2 inches of rain in less than an hour.

The forecasters warned that the runoff could cause rapid flooding of small streams and also to expect flooding of urban areas and roads and underpasses.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in the late afternoon for areas in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts.

At the Canoe River Campground in Mansfield, the river overran its banks and flooded some tent sites, said manager Marc Burmeister.

"A number of people are here for the Jimmy Buffett concert tonight. I haven’t heard any problems getting in and out of here," he said. "Hopefully, things will get drained out a bit and we’ll be all right."

By 6 p.m. another set of storms had developed in central Massachusetts. The weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for eastern Worcester County, including the cities of Worcester, Leominster, and Fitchburg.