Flint-Worcester Tornadoes
From Free net encyclopedia
The Flint-Worcester Tornadoes were two tornadoes, one occurring in Flint, Michigan on June 8, 1953, the other in Worcester, Massachusetts on June 9, 1953. These two tornadoes are among the deadliest in United States history. These tornadoes are also related together in the public mind because for a brief period it was debated in the U.S. Congress whether recent atomic bomb testing in the upper atmosphere had caused the tornadoes. Meteorologists quickly dispelled such an assertion.
Contents |
The Flint tornado
A tornado hit in Flint, Michigan on June 8, 1953. The tornado moved east-northeast 2 miles north of Flushing, Michigan and devastated the north side of Flint. The tornado dissipated near Lapeer, Michigan. Nearly every home was destroyed on both sides of Coldwater Road. Multiple deaths were reported in 20 families. It is, as of this writing, the last single tornado to kill more than 100 people. One hundred and sixteen were killed, making it the ninth deadliest tornado in U.S. history. It is also one of only three F5 tornadoes ever to hit in Michigan. Another F5 would hit in Hudsonville on April 3, 1956.
The Worcester tornado
The storm system that created the Flint tornado moved east. Inadequate radar led to poor severe weather predictions. The Weather Bureau in Buffalo, New York, merely predicted thunderstorms and said that "a tornado may occur." The Weather Bureau in Boston feared that the word "tornado" would strike panic in the public, and refrained from using it. Without warning, an F4 tornado struck central Massachusetts in the late afternoon hours on June 9, 1953. Ninety-four people were killed. The tornado descended over the Quabbin Reservoir in Petersham, Massachusetts at 4:25 P.M. It then slammed into the rural towns of Barre and Rutland, followed by suburban Holden, before killing 60 in heavily populated northern Worcester. Shrewsbury and Westborough each suffered numerous fatalities. The tornado did its final destruction at the Fayville Post office on Route 9 in Southborough, and dissipated nearby over the Sudbury Reservoir, eighty-four minutes after it formed.
This tornado was on the ground for nearly an hour and a half. In that period it traveled 46 miles, reached 1 mile in width and injured 1,300 people. Barre suffered the first 2 fatalities. The tornado then renewed its vigor in Rutland center with 2 more deaths. The funnel widened to 1/2 mile in Holden, where 9 were killed, the worst-hit areas being Winthrop Oaks and Brentwood.
At 5:08 P.M., the tornado entered Worcester and grew to a width of over 1 mile. Damage was phenomenal in Worcester, and in some areas equalled the worst seen in the U.S. Hardest-hit areas were Assumption College, Burncoat Hill and especially Great Brook Valley, where houses simply vanished, debris being swept clean from their sites. The debris was strewn eastward, reaching an observatory 35 mi (56 km) away, and even out over Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
This storm maintained a 1-mile width throughout much of Shrewsbury, and was still doing maximum damage in Westborough, where it began curving towards the northeast in its final leg. Coincidentally, around the time it ended in Southborough at 5:45 P.M., a tornado warning was issued, although by then it was too late.
The Worcester tornado was a milestone in many regards, not only because of its enormous size and unusual geographic location, but also due to the fact it was the nation's costliest tornado in raw dollars at the time, and its 1300 injuries still stands as the 4th worst in U.S. history. In terms of fatalities, it is the last tornado (as of this writing) to kill more than 90 people, making it the 19th worst on record.
The severity of this epic storm remains in dispute. Observations classified this tornado as F4 in many communities, but damage was inflicted consistent with an F5 tornado in some locales. As a result of this debate, the National Weather Service set up a panel of weather experts during the spring of 2005 to study the latest evidence on the wind strength of the Worcester tornado. The panel considered whether or not to raise the designation of the storm to F5, but finally decided to keep the official rating at F4.
1953 tornado season in perspective
Even though the 1953 tornado season only saw 422 tornadoes (which is half the nationwide average), the year saw some of the deadliest tornadoes, which included the Waco Tornado that hit on May 11.
How did a tornado hit in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts is part of the New England tornado alley which extends from central Massachusetts up through Vermont. Massachusetts has had an average of about 2.9 tornadoes yearly since 1950. The New England "Tornado Alley" is most active in July.
Baseball team nickname
Founded in 2004, the Worcester Tornadoes are the independent Can-Am League (Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball) expansion team that plays their home games at Fitton Field at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Tornadoes' CEO, Alan Stone, claims that "The name embodies the strength and dominating force the team will strive to display on the field." The name was chosen by local Worcester resident, Lynne Orsted, though she was joined by hundreds of others who entered the same name in a public contest held to chose the name of the team. Native-born and former Red Sox player Rich Gedman will manage the team for the opening 2005 season. Their website is located at: http://www.worcestertornadoes.com
References
- Chittick, William F. (2003). The Worcester Tornado, June 9, 1953. Bristol, RI: Private Publication.
- O'Toole, John M. (1993). Tornado! 84 minutes, 94 lives. Worcester: Chandler House Press. ISBN 0963627708