Perfect weather -- if you’re a duck - Metro Desk
After thunderstorms lit up the fall sky and drenched the streets today, Greater Boston residents looking for outdoor adventures without the sporadic rain should plan on heading out tomorrow, as a dry day is set to grace the city before scattered showers return this weekend.
A warm front from the south that moved through Massachusetts today brought with it some thunderstorms, with the area just west of Boston getting hit the hardest and a severe thunderstorm warning being issued in Berkshire County, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton. But for meteorologists, the storms were not anything out of the ordinary.
"There was a fair amount of lightning with it," said Matt Doody, National Weather Service meteorologist. "We've seen certainly much worse in terms of the amount of lighting strikes."
A two-story home in Swampscott caught fire after it was struck by lightning, but the flames were extinguished in minutes, according to Swampscott Fire Captain Mark Ryan. The National Weather Service received few reports of damage from the storm aside from a tree down in Natick, officials said.
There may be another shower or two tonight, with humidity and clouds expected to stick around, but Friday is set to be a dry day with highs in the upper 70s and winds heading in from the south at about 10 miles per hour.
Temperatures in Boston hit about 72 today and winds were no more than 15 miles per hour, according to the weather service in Taunton. Boston received about a half-inch of rain, and was not expected to gain much more into the evening.
"Can't rule out a rumble of thunder or two here and then," Doody said. "[But] the worst is well east of us."
There were minor flooding concerns in Western Massachusetts with flood warnings lasting into the night, but the weather service had not received reports of any serious flooding -- just a few rivers that briefly reached a flood stage and a total of about two inches of rain in the area.
Globe Correspondents Jaime Lutz and Amanda Cedrone contributed to this report.
