Dodged a bullet today

[WA1GFZ]

I'm driving home and radio reports Tornado on the ground in Springfield lots of damage. That is less than 10 miles North of here. Water spout as it crossed the river into Springfield. lots of trees and poles down. Some roofs removed.
Another cell coming this way.

[W1RKW]

Thankfully no damage Frank. 

The way the local news outlets were reporting things, it sounded as if the whole state of CT was in eminent danger.

[WA1GFZ]

I guess there was a lot of damage. I was going over the river about the same time the tornado was going over. I had to work through lunch today so bugged out on time tonight. Sky was very funky looking most of the afternoon.
Still pretty windy here.
No national news on 3 the weather guessers are still pissing their pants.
The WX ads will drive us crazy now.

[W4AAB]

Saw it on the Weather Channel while ago in Alabama while eating supper. Hope things die down quickly. Metro Boston doesn't need tornado damage like we had a month ago close to work.

[WA1GFZ]

We are about to get nailed. Sky has gone from a weird green to dark purple.
Looks like a bible scene out there now. Springfield got hit twice this cell is about 10 miles south right over head. They just reissued WX alerts.

[W1VD]

Frank ... the cell you're about to get hit with just passed to the north of here. Earlier it had an impressive 60,000' top. Hail but no meso, hook or TVS. Better batten down the hatches.

[The Slab Bacon]

WOW, I've never heard of one that far north! ! !   

[W3SLK]

Frank said:

WOW, I've never heard of one that far north! ! ! ]

I was driving down to Edmonton, Alberta, CA from Peace River and I just missed one there. This was back in 1991.

[steve_qix]

WOW, I've never heard of one that far north! ! !    

Oh yeah, we get 'em up here in New England every summer, someplace.  Today, there were tornadoes about 10 miles West of this QTH.  There was another tornado up in central New Hampshire.

The famous Worcester (MA) tornado was one of the biggest ones recorded (it was quite a destructive storm) around the N.E. area.

In 1988, a tornado hit within 300 feet of my house in Groton (MA), and caused considerable damage to our house and cars (mostly from trees flying around).  That same storm ripped a steeple off a church in Fitchburg and caused other damage as well.

The New England tornadoes are typically not large and usually they break up fairly quickly.  But, some have been known to cross most of the state causing damage all along the way.  Often they "bounce" along the way if they continue over a path many miles long.

The Lake (Winnipesaukee, in NH) has tornadoes from time to time, and some of them have been rather destructive.  There are some railroad cars at the bottom of the lake - put there by a tornado many years ago.

The tornadoes around here are nothing like the giants they get regularly in the Mid-West.  Those things are REALLY scary.

Regards,

Steve

[David, K3TUE]

Tornado forming over Connecticut River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fwkb-fzPcA

[KX5JT]

Amazing footage!  Terrible loss of 4 lives. 

[KM1H]

Over the 22 years Ive lived on top of this hill Ive seen several funnels in the Nashua, NH to Chelmsford, MA area, some were reported to have touched down causing minimal damage.
Some day I may place a TV camera on top of the 180' tower.

That 1953 Worcester tornado killed 94, that was long before the pinheads started trying to blame them on carbon pollution.

[W8EJO]

carbon pollution.

Oxymoron

[W2PFY]

Wow, Bad news! i wonder if the two WBZA Westinghouse towers survived the high wins?

[k4kyv]

First the southeast, then Missouri/Arkansas/Kansas, and now New England. Where next?

I suspect the odds are overwhelming that any given spot in the mid-section of this continent would likely be swept clean with a totally destrictive tornado at least once over any period of 1000-2000 years, so you would never find antiquities in these parts like those in the Mediterranean regions of Europe and elsewhere in the world.

[steve_qix]

It's too bad this tornado hit in a relatively densely populated area.  We get them often enough up here, that it is really rather rare that a summer goes by where there ISN'T a tornado somewhere in New England, and really, there are generally several in any season.  It's just that they are usually short-lived (even these tornadoes were really rather short lived) and since there is so much open space here, the odds are that they usually don't land in densely populated places.

This one did and that was very unfortunate.

And of course it had to hit a mobile home park in Brimfield.  I'm really surprised that the death toll wasn't much, much higher after seeing the flattened houses and overturned and smashed up mobile homes.

[k4kyv]

And of course it had to hit a mobile home park in Brimfield.  I'm really surprised that the death toll wasn't much, much higher after seeing the... overturned and smashed up mobile homes.

Those things seem to attract tornadoes. Why else are they called "tornado magnets"?

[W2PFY]

I think it was George Carlin who said, "One thing you'll never see, is a picture of a tornado going around a trailer park!"

[steve_qix]

Here are a couple from Brimfield.  Just a small section.  Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the tornado's path across a number of towns in Western Mass.  Like most N.E. tornadoes, this one "bounced" or retreated and then re-formed further down the line.

[WA1GFZ]

crap, this was so close

[KM1H]

Close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades

[KX5JT]

Close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades

and atomic warfare

[WA1GFZ]

bend over here come insurance rates

[k4kyv]

Anyone heard whether or not the WBZA towers are still standing?

Westinghouse would probably be happy if the whole she-bang, towers, buildings and all were obliterated, allowing them to collect the insurance and be rid of the liability.

[steve_qix]

Anyone heard whether or not the WBZA towers are still standing?

Westinghouse would probably be happy if the whole she-bang, towers, buildings and all were obliterated, allowing them to collect the insurance and be rid of the liability.

The tornado passed within approximately 2500-3500 feet of the WBZA location, to the South of the site.  I do not know if the building or tower were affected, however as of now there are no reports about the towers being down.

I don't know the exact address of the old Westinghouse building on Page Boulevard, but the street is definitely in the affected area.