Damage follows possible tornado in NH, lightning strike in Boston

Trees and wires are down and roads closed in New Hampshire after an observed tornado and other severe storms Thursday, and a lightning strike caused damage in Boston's South End.

A weather observer reported the apparent tornado in the Keene, New Hampshire area. The National Weather Service has said they will conduct a storm survey in the Keene and Dublin areas Friday to confirm the report.

Pockets of damage were evident after the storm. The Dublin Police Department posted photos of a tree, utility pole and wires down on Route 101, closing the road in both directions near Lake Road. The fire chief said they also had reports of trees and wires down on Dublin Road, but no reported injuries.

"It was very short-lived very intense for a short time," Dublin Fire Chief Tom Vanderbilt told NBC10 Boston. "It was bad where it was bad but the rest of the town is pretty much unaffected.”

"We hid in the basement, with the dogs, we were down there probably about five minutes," said Dolly McKenna.

When she came back up, McKenna found a huge tree down. It narrowly missed her house.

"It certainly did a number on our front yard," she said.

But it was the Dublin School that took the brunt of the damage.

"Now we're going to take the tornado warnings seriously," said Juliette Ortiz, who lives on campus.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, more than 10,000 people were without power Thursday evening as storms hit that state. By 11 p.m., the tally was below 1,700.

In Boston, bricks flew onto Massachusetts Avenue after lightning struck a building.

"The chimney kind of blew up when it got hit by lightning, and lots of bricks fell down," Boston Fire District Chief Robert Counihan said. "Luckily, no one happened to be walking by, or no one got injured."

Lightning also caused a fire at a building on the campus of the American International College in Springfield. No students, faculty or staff were inside at the time.

Severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings were in effect in parts of New England Thursday, but they have since expired. For the latest updates, click here.