5:15 pm Friday Afternoon Thunderstorm Update For Western & Central Mass

An area of strong to severe thunderstorms are now located over Palmer. This thunderstorm is moving in a southeasterly direction at a forward speed of about 20 mph.

These strong to severe thunderstorms will affect Brimfield, Monson and Holland over the next 30 minutes & will reach Sturbridge, Southbridge and Brimfield by about 5:45 pm or so. Areas a little further east towards Dudley, Webster and Oxford will be affected by this thunderstorm by 6-6:15 pm.

Frequent lightning, wind gusts of up to 40-60 mph and torrential downpours are all expected with these thunderstorms as they move through.

These thunderstorms should last for about 45 minutes from start to finish at any one location.

4:45 pm Friday Afternoon Thunderstorm Update For Western & Central Mass

Quick update - The strong thunderstorm now located over South Hadley and just north of Chicopee has turned to a more southeasterly direction. This means that areas of the Mass Pike and Route 20 from about Palmer and Brimfield eastward through Sturbridge & Charlton to about Auburn will probably be impacted by this thunderstorm.

Based on the current new forward motion of the thunderstorm, it will reach areas around Palmer and Brimfield by 5:30 pm, Sturbridge, Southbridge & Charlton by about 6 pm or so & then Auburn, Oxford and Webster by about 6:30 pm.

This strong thunderstorm is producing frequent lightning, along with wind gusts of up to 40 mph and torrential downpours.

4:20 pm Friday Afternoon Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Radar imagery as of the time of this post indicated that there were a couple of thunderstorms occurring over the middle and upper Pioneer Valley of Western Mass. These thunderstorms are moving to the east at a forward speed of about 20-25 mph.

The thunderstorm now near the northern end of the Quabbin will push its way across northern Worcester County over the next hour or so, more or less paralleling the Route 2 corridor. This thunderstorm should reach areas around Fitchburg and Leominster by about 5:15 pm or so. Heavy downpours, some gusty winds and some lightning can be expected with this thunderstorm.

The other thunderstorm that's now located near Northampton looks rather strong & will move to the east reaching the western Worcester Hills by about 5:15 pm or so. This thunderstorm then looks to potentially reach the Worcester Metro by about 6-6:15 pm or so. It appears that this particular thunderstorm will parallel the Route 9 corridor as it moves eastward from the middle Pioneer Valley through central Worcester County. Heavy downpours, gusty winds and lightning is likely with this thunderstorm.

Areas near and south of the Mass Pike & Route 20 are safe for now in terms of thunderstorm activity. It should be noted though that there are a couple of additional thunderstorms now located over far western Mass near Great Barrington that'll need to be watched for areas around the Mass Pike from the Springfield Metro by 5:30-6 pm through Central Mass after 6:30-7 pm.