Quick-moving storm leaves behind damage, flooding

The remnants from Hurricane Florence brought heavy rain and some damage to southern New England Tuesday.

The Boston 25 StormTracker Meteorologists tracked a tremendous amount of rain that caused flash flooding in some areas and a microburst in Saugus.

Be sure to download the free Boston 25 News and Weather apps for breaking alerts on dangerous weather in your area. 

Wednesday, Sept. 19

Tuesday, Sept. 18

5:30 p.m.: The National Weather Service determined there was no tornado in Saugus Tuesday, and rather a microburst caused damage throughout the area.

Trees went down onto cars, on decks, and in a nearby cemetery in Saugus, all in the span of a few minutes.

"It was crazy," Luis Ferreira said. "I mean, the whole house was shaking and I grabbed my dog, went into the basement. I thought my house was going to fly away."

Residents in one neighborhood watched the winds tear down trees, while also hurling around and smashing furniture.

"The table was flipped upside down on top of that, that's why the glass is all in there," Ferreira said. "Be careful, there's glass everywhere."

A street away, a construction crew witnessed the wild weather.

"To me, it was like a big, white burst coming through here between the two houses," Bill Bourque said. "Barrels started flying, some stuff was flying off the house."

A huge tree toppled on Riverside Park, covering a Corvette stuck in the driveway beneath it. Power was also knocked out in the neighborhood.

Down the road, toppled trees and broken branches littered Riverside Cemetery.

"It's pretty meaningful to me since my family, we grew up coming here, paying our respects to my grandparents," Elizabeth McCarthy said. "This big branch is stuck on top of the urn. It's kind of perched precariously. It's pretty heavy, I can't get it off."

3:15 p.m.: Danvers Electric crews at the Aria at Hawthorne Hill after heavy rain caused retaining wall to collapse, knocking transformer off its base.

3:10 p.m.: Crews repairing power lines on Bedford Street in Bridgewater.

2:50 p.m.: Red Cross sending disaster assessment team to Saugus.

2 p.m.: National Weather Service sending a team to assess damage in Saugus.

1:45 p.m.: Flash flood warning for Plymouth and Bristol counties until 5:30 p.m.

1 p.m.: Rain reports across our area as of 1 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: Water seeping out of manhole cover in Swampscott.

12:15 p.m.: REMINDER: Don't drive through flooded roadways.

11:55 a.m.: Mystic Avenue in Somerville reopened.

11:50 a.m.: Quincy Police reporting flooding conditions at the southern artery by Greenleaf Street.

11:45 a.m.: MassDOT says Route 38 Mystic Avenue at McGrath Highway in Somerville closed in both directions due to flooding.

11:35 a.m.: Mass. State Police tweeted of flooding on Memorial Drive eastbound and westbound at the Longfellow Bridge.

11:30 a.m.: New FLASH FLOOD WARNING in effect until 3:15 p.m. Major flooding across parts of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

11:20 a.m.: On-ramp to 128/95 from Quinobequin Road in Newton temporarily closed due to downed tree, per MassDOT Communications Director Jacquelyn Goddard.

11:15 a.m.: Tornado Warning for Essex County has expired.

11:10 a.m.: Multiple reports of flooded roads in Danvers, Mass. Do NOT try to drive through deep puddles.

11 a.m.: A TORNADO WARNING issued for parts of Essex County until 11:15 a.m. Seek shelter.

The Swampscott Public Schools went into Tornado protocol at 11 a.m. after the tornado warning. The schools tell us "all schools were directed to go to their lowest point and shelter in place.  Once schools were notified the warning was lifted at approximately 11:18 am schools were directed to return to normal."

11 a.m.: North Reading Police tweeted about flooding on Main Street (Route 28) near the Walmart. Avoid the area if possible.

11 a.m.: Wilmington, Mass. Police tweeted of a report of a vehicle stuck in the flooded road on Lowell Street near Michael's Place.

10:15 a.m.: FLASH FLOOD WARNING now issued for Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester Counties until 2:15 PM.

10:14 a.m.: Reports of several manhole covers popping off on roadways in Leominster.

Cox Media Group