Tornados In Worcester and SW of Boston MA - Track on NECN

[buccaneer81]

I grew up in Eastern MA and we never had them. I’ve lived in Central Ohio for the past 19 years and have had years where they sound 40 days, along with the weekly Wednesday testing.

[STARWISE]

Holymoly ... and they wonder how the young minds full of
mush students get perverted, promiscuous, shiftless and entitled. And we’re not even talking about the way the hippie profs contaminate their thinking. God help our nation survive.

[buccaneer81]

I can’t imagine what it’s like there 24 years later (Well, I can, but at the age of 47 and as a father, I don’t want to.)

[ExNewsExSpook]

Interestingly, the NWS in Boston anticipated possible tornadoes in New England on the day of the storm (9 June 1953). However, using that word in weather forecasts was controversial during that era; the Boston office feared that mentioning the possibility of tornadoes would incite mass panic, so they compromised, issuing the first-ever severe thunderstorm watch for New England.

The advisory was in effect when the Worcester tornado formed in the late afternoon. The massive storm (one mile wide at some points) remained on the ground for almost 50 miles, killing scores of people. By some accounts, there was confusion at the NWS in Boston; forecasters rejected early reports of a tornado on the ground, and didn’t issue a warning until 5:45 pm, about the time it was dissipating.

The Worcester storm did have one positive effect; the NWS was re-organized and they initiated efforts to use radars and spotter networks to improve tornado warnings. Weather radars remained crude (at least until the WSR-88D was introduced), but the initiative helped reduce tornado deaths.