Timeline of the Massachusetts Tornadoes
This is a summary of some of the events that occurred in New England Wednesday as we observed them. All times are approximate.
***Tuesday... AccuWeather warns of possible severe weather outbreak including a few tornadoes for New England and the mid-Atlantic.
*** Wednesday (all times in EDT)...
*** 1:00 p.m.: A tornado watch is issued for much of New England, by the National Weather Service.
*** 2:45 p.m.: AccuWeather meteorologists observed that radar was beginning to indicate hook echoes and rotation in several of the storms spanning southern Vermont, southern New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley of New York state.
*** 3:07 p.m.: Baseball-sized hail fell on Shaftsbury, Vt.
*** 3:30 p.m.: Radar indicated a possible debris ball near Bethel, Maine. A debris ball is indicative of a tornado on the ground. This storm was heading in the direction of Augusta, Maine.
*** 4:30 p.m.: A tornado warning was issued for parts of western Massachusetts. Radar showed a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across western Massachusetts.
*** 5 p.m.: A supercell with a tornado was reported in Westfield, Mass., and this cell made its way to Springfield, where a tornado was also reported.
*** 5:30 p.m.: The cell was moving eastward through southern Worcester County, including Sturbridge and Oxford. Tornado reported near I-84 with cars overturned in Sturbridge.
*** 6:15 p.m.: Another supercell formed and was heading toward Springfield. The southern cell was now heading toward South Walpole and Foxborough., and a tornado was reported in Westfield.
*** 6:40 p.m.: Another tornado was reported north of Springfield in the vicinity of U.S. Route 20.
*** 7 p.m.: A tornado was on the ground south of Palmer, Mass. This tornado was continuing eastward toward Fiskdale in western Worcester County.
*** 7:20 p.m.: The supercell that produce the second Springfield area tornado was headed toward Oxford.
*** 10:00 p.m.: The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency confirmed that four people were killed from this evening's tornadoes in Massachusetts. Two fatalities occurred in Westfield, one occurred in Brimfield and the last was in Springfield. Thunderstorms were exiting the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts, and the threat for additional storms has ended.
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist
