Tornado watch issued for parts of Mass., R.I., and Conn.

[Zenlitened]

Source: The Boston Globe

Tornado watch issued for parts of Mass., R.I., and Conn.

By Boston.com Staff | May 16, 2007

Portions of Central and Western Massachusetts as well as parts of Connecticut, northern Rhode Island, and southwest New Hampshire have been place under a Tornado Watch by the National Weather Service in Taunton. The watch is in effect until 6 p.m.

The watch involving the four New England states extends through an area running from 30 miles west of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. eastward to a point 20 miles east-northeast of Worcester. Thunderstorms have already begun moving across the region.

The counties involved are Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, northern and southern Worcester in Massachusetts, Cheshire in New Hampshire, northern Providence in Rhode Island, and Tolland and Windham in Connecticut.

The NWS bulletin urges all to listen and watch for updated bulletins concerning the weather situation.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/05/16/tornado_watch_issued_for_parts_of_mass_ri_and_conn/

---

NOTE: Headline fails to mention, but areas in New Hampshire are included in the tornado watch.

[gaspee]

1. Holy moly!

I don't think we've ever had a tornad watch before. Or not very often anyway.

Good thing I'm south of Providence. I'm going to watch the bay for waterspouts though...

[Spazito]

2. Is this unusual? I didn't think these areas were part of ...

"tornado alley"?

[Systematic Chaos]

3. There can be tornadoes anywhere from Maine to So. Cal

It's just that they're statistically much more rare in places like New England. :)

There was a small F0 once in a desert town near Las Vegas I used to live in (Pahrump, NV). It rocked a couple of trailer homes but did no permanent damage.

[Spazito]

5. Thanks, I wondered about the rarity of them in this region

I hope the watch remains only a watch and doesn't turn into a warning.

[kestrel91316]

10. small F0 once in a desert town near Las Vegas I used to live in (Pahrump, NV).

In NV we call those dust devils.

[Systematic Chaos]

12. It was more than a dust devil and came during a thunderstorm.

It WAS a real mini-tornado with a funnel cloud and there were several eye witnesses. Trust me, I've lived around here since 1982, with the exception of leaving for Minnesota for 3 years in the early 90's, and I know the difference.

[kestrel91316]

21. WOW

:wow:

We get them every winter here in Los Angeles with unsettled weather/cold fronts. They are usually close to the beach communities or just off the coast (water spouts) but lately have been getting bigger and worse, and moving more inland.

[Javaman]

22. wasn't there something about fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here?

oh wait...why do tornados hate america?

oh yeah, the climate change thingy.

my bad.

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Which would make this unusual

yes?

The question was not 'is this possible'.

The last major tornado in this region was I believe the one that hit worcester in the 1930's.

[Larkspur]

7. Worcester, MA had a nasty tornado in the 1950's

and my little village of Ballouville, CT had a tornado touch down in the 1970's

I grew up in Illinois, so am familiar with tornados. I grew up across the street from the air raid/tornado siren. Now I don't have that siren. Tornados have happened in every state and the nastier the squall line the more likely tornados will spawn, regardless of where you live.

[MADem]

11. It IS unusual. Not that it hasn't happened every once in a blue moon. NT

[Tesha]

27. So you're saying that, this month, we're due? (NT)

[MADem]

36. Geez, I hope not. Our roof took a beating with that nor'easter.

We don't need more woe!

[Tesha]

37. You know this month *HAS* a "blue moon", right? ;-) (NT)

[KamaAina]

23. Great Barrington, MA, 1995

just outside this particular watch area.

http://www.wwlp.com/wx/weatherwisdom_GBtornado.html

While they are few and far between, tornadoes do occur here in Western Massachusetts. Occasionally these tornadoes make history. The May 29, 1995, Great Barrington tornado will go down in history as one of Western Massachusetts' strongest and most destructive storms.

According to National Weather Service reports, a thunderstorm developed over Central New York (just northwest of Binghamton) around 3:30pm on May 29, 1995. This is the storm that would eventually produce the Great Barrington Tornado. The first tornado that this storm would produce developed over the Hudson Valley of New York at around 6:40pm. That tornado would dissipate for a short period of time, only to redevelop just east of the Massachusetts border. This is the tornado that would rip through Great Barrington. In fact, the winds of this tornado would rip apart buildings on the Great Barrington Fairgrounds and topple trees in the surrounding woods. 27 people were injured and 3 killed as a result of the storm.

The storm was an F4 tornado on the Fujita Scale Of Tornado Intensity. Using the Fujita Scale, meteorologists can estimate the wind speed of a tornado by examining the damage it creates. An F5 on the Fujita scale would have winds of 207- 260mph. An F5 would level well constructed houses, throw cars and other large objects some distance. This description is consistent with the damage the Great Barrington tornado created. Keep in mind, there is no way to classify a tornado while it is happening. The Fujita classification is assigned only after a tornado has happened and damage is assessed.

:scared:

[Spazito]

25. Wow, thanks for this info, I had no idea such strong tornados

had ever hit this region!

[MassLiberal]

32. the New Haven, CT, area had a big one in 1989

Mostly affected the adjacent town of Hamden: http://wtnh.tv/blogs/index.php/weather/2006/07/10/remember_that_monday

[Virginia Dare]

4. There's another low pressure system coming too...

if these things still keep forming into next month, this is going to be bad. :(

[ccpup]

6. and with the air today

in NYC being so humid even my dogs looked at me incredulously when I suggested a walk -- they still went, but were decidedly unhappy with the experience --, a tornado wouldn't necessarily be out-of-the-question. I know we're due for some mighty impressive thunderstorms later today and into tonight, or so they say. But then again these are the people who promise a blizzard and all we get is a flurry or two, so who knows?

[mediawatch]

8. I am in NW CT

it looks like it will just miss me. I have been listening to the weather reports all morning. Working from home today!

[kestrel91316]

9. WTF???

:wtf:

[bdamomma]

16. my words exactly, as a ex-pat I hope RI is okay

Be safe you guys!!!

Tornado watch now in effect for Providence

PROVIDENCE -- The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for this afternoon until 6 p.m.

The weather appears to be turning at this point, and the weather service predicts a slight chance of showers, then periods of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. These storms could be severe, with damaging winds and frequent lightning. The high should be around 77 and south winds could be around 16 miles per hour.

Southern New England can get one to three tornadoes a year, typically in the summertime, according to the National Weather Service.

[MuseRider]

13. Hang in there and be safe y'all.

I don't know how many of you in that area have basements but if you don't just put as many walls between you and the storm as you can and cover yourself with a mattress or something like that if you can.

This has been an advisory from ToTo in Kansas.

Be safe!!!

[bennie]

14. Take this Okie's advice; watch the weather!

Yeah, I lost my house to an Oklahoma tornado.
Yeah, it was a moblie home.
Yeah, it was a doublewide.

Stop laughing!

[Straight Shooter]

20. Why would we laugh at the loss of your home because it was a doublewide?

Home is home, no matter what form it takes.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[Nicole]

35. Welcome to DU

from a fellow Okie.

:hi:

[kineneb]

38. not laughing

and welcome

We are in California, and live in a doublewide (manufactured home)tied down to a concrete foundation; this is, after all California...we don't get tornados often, but we do get earthquakes.

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. CT county update

FAIRFIELD HARTFORD LITCHFIELD
NEW HAVEN TOLLAND WINDHAM

[Up2Late]

18. Sounds like "Climate Change" to me.

But then again, I'm just your average citizen scientist.

[bdamomma]

19. I remember when I was a kid and there was a tornardo in

Providence, it seemed to only hit on one section of the city.

[Breeze54]

24. I'm not in those counties but it's very gusty here now!

I think that storm is headed here though. Tornado Watch until 6 PM today.

Hail, lightening possible. TV giving a Weather Alert right now.

[mediawatch]

26. she came she went

my portion of the thunderstorm is gone. Sun is coming back out and it is cooler.

how are other CTs doing?

[rocktivity]

28. I just drove through a monsoon

that knocked out power lines on the (New Jersey) Garden State Parkway ten miles south of Newark--and a tree around the corner from my home.

Good thing there's no such thing as global warming...

:eyes:
rocknation

[Breeze54]

29. Ahhhhh!! The thunder is on top of my house!!

:scared: Boom! Zap!!

Wind! Pouring rain...Boom!!!!!



:scared:

[skids]

30. Yep just drove home through that.

Really fast moving low clouds that completely blocked out the sun. Weird bursty rain. Spooky stuff.

[newscott]

31. I talked to my wife about an hour ago in SE MA

I'm at work in Boston. Bad T-storms have passed through, lots of rain and lightning where I am. She said no rain back home but the sky was almost green and the wind was ferocious.

[july302001]

33. Ridgefield and some other towns in the area

Friend of mine told me there was very bad weather and power outages in the area of Cheshire, Newtown and Ridgefield, CT.

Not sure if any tornadoes actually touched down, however.

[IndianaGreen]

34. It is 57 degrees in Indianapolis right now, and New England is getting our Midwestern tornadoes

Meanwhile the Bible Belt is getting very dry. What's going on?