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Towns cleaning up damage left behind after strong storms

BOSTON — Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says power has been restored to thousands after strong storms swept through the area Monday.

More than 17,000 people were without power in Massachusetts Monday night. According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, just over 1,200 were without power as of 6 a.m. Tuesday.

MEMA reports most outages are focused in towns and cities in Franklin, Worcester and Essex counties.

Severe weather impacted the area since early afternoon on Monday and rain continued through early on Tuesday morning.

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A tornado warning was issued for parts of western Massachusetts throughout the evening, but there were no reports of anything actually touching the ground in the Commonwealth.

The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday one tornado touched down at 3:30 p.m. Monday near Mount Pemigewassett in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Downed trees and branches were reported across Massachusetts, with several buildings sustaining lightning damage.

Officials are also warning residents not to come near downed wires.

The Merrimac Valley was one of the hardest hit areas where trees were blown over and split in half in Methuen and over 5,000 customers in Haverhill were without power. As of Tuesday morning, that number is down to around 200.

Despite the severe weather, no injuries have been reported by MEMA.