Tornadoes in New England

Paths of tornadoes in New England, 1950–2006

Tornadoes are fairly uncommon in the US region of New England. Fewer tornadoes are recorded here than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.[1] However, these deadly and destructive storms do occur; on average, about eight tornadoes are reported in the region each year. Almost 200 people have been killed by these storms in recorded history, and two of the ten most destructive tornadoes in US history occurred in this region.

Climatology

New England tornadoes per year
(1950–2010)
State Per year By area†
Connecticut 1.5 2.8
Maine 1.9 0.5
Massachusetts 2.5 2.4
New Hampshire 1.5 1.6
Rhode Island 0.2 1.1
Vermont 0.7 0.7
National Climatic Data Center,[2] US Census Bureau
†Avg. number tornadoes per year per
10,000 square miles (26,000 km2)

Tornadoes are a violent weather phenomenon that occur most often in the United States, to the east of the Rocky Mountains. However, they most often occur in the Southern and Central United States, and are comparatively rare in New England. However, no region is immune to tornadoes if the weather conditions are right.[3]

While tornadoes have been recorded in almost every county in New England, there is a region just east of The Berkshires with a much higher concentration of tornado occurrences. This area is analogous to the Tornado Alley of the Great Plains, but on a much smaller scale.[1][2]

On average (1950–2008), more than two tornadoes per year strike the state of Massachusetts alone, with New England as a whole recording more than 8.[1][2] Most tornadoes reported in the region are "weak", rated EF0 or EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (the Fujita scale prior to 2007). Around 30% are "significant" tornadoes (rated EF2 or greater), and only 1% are violent (rated EF4 or EF5, the highest damage rating). Weak tornadoes occur in all areas of New England, but EF3 or greater tornadoes have been reported only in New England's practical "Tornado Alley" of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and southern New Hampshire.[2]

Peak tornado activity in New England occurs during the summer months of June, July and August. Tornadoes typically strike between 3 and 9 pm local time, and move at a forward speed of around 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).[4]

Notable tornadoes

Deadliest

There have been 34 killer tornadoes in New England's recorded history.[2][5] Several of these tornadoes have killed multiple people:

The June 1, 2011 tornado which killed three people in and around Springfield, Massachusetts

Only two tornadoes in the history of New England have killed more than 10 people: the 1953 Worcester Tornado and the 1878 Wallingford tornado. The Worcester Tornado killed as many as 94 people in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 9, 1953, and the Wallingford Tornado killed as many as 34 in Wallingford, Connecticut, on August 8, 1878. These two tornadoes, both estimated to be of F4 intensity on the Fujita scale, killed more people than the rest of the tornadoes in the region's recorded history combined. Since most New England tornadoes are weak and short-lived, it is understandable why tornadoes causing multiple fatalities are a rare occurrence.

Costliest

Of the ten costliest tornadoes in US history (adjusted for inflation), two occurred in New England: The 1979 Windsor Locks, Connecticut tornado, which caused $200 million in damage ($652 million in 2016 USD), and the 1953 Worcester tornado, which caused $52 million in damage ($460 million in 2016 USD).[20] The Worcester tornado damaged or destroyed thousands of homes over a wide swath of central Massachusetts; the Windsor Locks tornado by contrast had a relatively small damage path, but it caused significant damage to parts of Bradley International Airport, including the New England Air Museum, where dozens of expensive and historic aircraft were damaged or destroyed, leading to the large damage figure.[21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zielinski and Keim, p. 200
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "NCDC Storm Events". National Climatic Data Center. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  3. ↑ Pete Spotts (2011-06-02). "Massachusetts tornado: What are deadly tornadoes doing way up in New England?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  4. ↑ "Severe Weather Awareness - Tornadoes". Gray, Maine: National Weather Service. May 5, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ Grazulis, pgs 379, 552–606
  6. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 553
  7. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 556
  8. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 596
  9. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 605
  10. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 653
  11. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 684
  12. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 974
  13. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 1144
  14. ↑ "Tornado Kills 4, Injures 31 Along Berkshire State Line". Schenectady Gazette (Schenectady, New York). August 29, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  15. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 1215
  16. ↑ Grazulis, pg. 1216
  17. ↑ Lance F. Bosart, Kenneth LaPenta, Anton Seimon, and Michael Dickinson. "Terrain-Influenced Tornadogenesis in the Northeastern United States: An Examination of the 29 May 1995 Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Tornado" (PDF). Hyannis, Massachusetts: 22nd Conference on Severe Local Storms. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Annual Fatal Tornado Summaries". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  19. ↑ Vivian Yee (June 18, 2011). "Insurance claims for tornadoes hit $140m". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  20. ↑ Brooks, Harold E.; Doswell, Charles A., III (February 2001). "Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890–1999". Weather and Forecasting (Boston, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society) 16 (1): 168–176. Bibcode:2001WtFor..16..168B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2001)016<0168:NDFMTI>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
  21. ↑ "Tornado!". Windsor Locks, Connecticut: New England Air Museum. Archived from the original on 1998-07-10. Retrieved 2011-06-15.

Book References

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