First "major" winter storm has some effect on Southborough

December 9, 2009

The first "significant" snowfall hit Southborough causing some problems until the snow changed to rain. With temperatures hovering around freezing, a heavy, wet snow fell, causing many tree limbs, especially pine, to break to fall. Some of the limbs fell across power lines causing power disruptions throughout Southborough.

Below is a synopsis of the emergency calls in Southborough during the storm:

10:08 AM    Arcing Wires, Clifford Street (see pictures below)

12:08 PM    Vehicle Crash, MassPike

12:10 PM    Acring wires/wires down, Northborough Road

1:23 PM    Wires Down, Main Street

1:46 PM    Fire Alarm activation, Wildwood Drive

Firefighters and police officers blocked off Clifford Street as a tree limb flee across three 13,800 volt power lines and arced. The arcing eventually caused one of the three lines to break and fall into the street, still energized.

National Grid had an extended response time due to the storm, which required the local police and fire department to tie up resources to protect the public safety until the lines could be deenergized.