The Worcester Tornado of June 9, 1953
June 8th, 2009 at 2:40 pm by T.J. Del Santo under General Talk, Weather and Science
Courtesy The City of Worcester. The Worcester Tornado of June 9, 1953
The stories are amazing. The destruction was incomprehensible. The lives lost….94. It was an historic storm for two reasons:
- The size of the storm and the death and destruction it caused.
- It helped shape the future of severe weather prediction in the United States
The story of the June 9th, 1953 Worcester Tornado actually started the day before over the Great Lakes states. A killer complex of thunderstorms moved over Michigan and Ohio, producing a mammoth F5 tornado over Flint, MI with winds estimated to be between 261 and 318mph! In its path, it moved over a drive-in theater, reminiscent of the movie “Twister”. The Flint twister killed 125 people…the last tornado in the United States to kill more than 100.
That same weather system, which spawned the Flint Tornado, moved east into New England the next day.
The Worcester Tornado developed over Petersham in Western Massachusetts. It twisted through a number of towns before moving through Worcester and continued into Southboro before returning into the clouds. It travelled an amazing 46 miles and was estimated to be a mile wide at one point!!!! This was considered to be a strong F4 storm, but at times F5 damage was observed. There was another, lesser known storm that same day in Southern Worcester and Norfolk Counties…that one was an F3. No one was killed in that one.
The Worcester Tornado moved right across Assumption College in the north end of Worcester. A priest and 2 nuns were among the dead. Two infants were killed, one reportedly ripped from its mother’s arms. Many children, fathers and mothers perished. Hail larger than lightbulbs was reported. A frozen mattress was found in Boston Harbor! The destruction of houses, buildings, cars, and other infrastructure is estimated to be at $350 million 2009 dollars. Many described the damage to be “like a bomb went off”. There are too many stories to list here. Below are some good links I’ve found discussing the tornado and its impact on Massachusetts and the country:
National Weather Service-Taunton
Suburban Emergency Management Project
Thanks for this TJ! I can’t believe we had a tornado this strong in Massachusetts! What kind of weather did they have just before the tornado?
-B
Baron: I don’t mean to respond for TJ, but to answer your question: according to my grandparents and parents (all survivors…they lived in the Great Brook Valley section of Worcester in ‘53): it was unseasonably hot and sticky for several days before the storm.
Sorry it took a bit to get back to ya! Yes, central Massachusetts was in the middle of a heat wave in the days leading up to the tornado. Thanks Lawump!
Yeah I heard because of that tornado, statistically a person from Massachusetts is at the greatest risk of dying from a tornado.
Storms in the area? Where are they headed, you can’t figure that out with wind dirction and you computers, get a life~
Thanks for the video. I was 15 at the time and lived at 9 Tolerance Rd in the Lincolnwood project. Still after 56 years I cringe whenever the skies darken. As I walked down Lincoln Street from St. Joan of Arch church, small hail began to fall and as I looked towards Great Brook valley I could see things being tossed around in the air but had no idea it was houses, cars and trees. I no sooner got into my house when it was demolished..
To: ja ck says….Lee B…says….Your sarcasm is an indication of your ignorance. Don’t count on wind direction, storm trackers will tell you a storm, and particularly a tornado, can, and often do turn on a dime. Some people don’t have computers.
I am saddened at all the lives that were lost, and grateful for all those who were spared during this most devistating event.