Spring storm causes power outages, tree damage over weekend

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - This past weekend's storm left hundreds in the Pioneer Valley without power.

Strong winds also brought down trees and power lines in the eastern part of the Pioneer Valley. As rain continues to fall, which could lead to some flooding, cleanup efforts continue.

It's not uncommon during stronger storms to see wind gusts reach 30 miles per hour. The danger comes when microbursts and straight-line winds enter heavily wooded areas. The first big spring thunderstorm brought heavy rain and strong winds to most of southern New England.

This is the same storm system that wreaked havoc in the Midwest with tornadoes and massive floods. While we were saved from tornadoes, Michael Rawlins with the Climate System Research Center told 22News that more intense rain could become more common, "There have been some indicators that suggest that maybe weather is becoming more variable, more volatile if you will more rapid swings between wet and dry, hot and cold."

Straight line winds, or any strong winds not associated with tornadoic rotation, are a product of this more volatile weather. The town of Ware experienced one form of straight-line winds, known as microbursts. Reports of a microburst this weekend happened right around this area, and the short but strong winds easily have enough power to take down trees and power lines.

Microbursts generally last between five to ten minutes, but the strong sustained winds can feel like a weak hurricane. Researchers point to the climate rebounding from recent dry spells as the reason for these stronger events.

"As it gets wetter overall, in general throughout the year, that shift in the climate is bringing more of those extreme events more in the tails of the distribution if you think about a bell curve," Rawlins adds.

In the south, two people died last week during major floods from this same storm system..
No deaths have been reported in western Massachusetts.