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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTORNADOES in New England??? What the hell...?
We're not known for tornadoes but there are tornado warnings in Rockingham County NH, and York County, ME, per NECN...!!!
markpkessinger
(8,381 posts). . . it's just that some places are much, much more prone to them.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)A Little Weird
(1,754 posts)But they can happen anywhere. Still relatively rare in places like the Northeast but I also wonder if the frequency in those areas is increasing.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/story/2012-04-09/tornado-alley/54157872/1
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)I was 8 months pregnant and my husband and I got caught in that in our car (at Atlantic and Washington). One of the scariest moments ever. For two minutes we couldn't see anything... then trees down all around us.
Louisiana1976
(3,962 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I got some family under the gun; they've got a good basement though.
The worst of it seems to be over--now it's storms and rain, the warnings have expired for now, but they're saying that some of these storms coming in will give us two inches of rainfall per hour--Jeez! And tomorrow, they'll be moving south towards Beantown!
Ooops...I spoke too soon--here comes a "second core" of another storm!
I think this is going to be an interesting couple of days--I hope that stupid Hurricane Arthur heads out to sea and doesn't veer in towards us!
CTyankee
(63,771 posts)I think by the time I leave saturday afternoon there won't be a problem...
have to take the little ferry from chappy to edgartown...then the catamaran fast ferry to Quonset point RI, a rough ride in the best weather...a roiled ocean won't be so great...lotsa people get sick as dogs...what fun, the perfect end to the week!
MADem
(135,425 posts)CTyankee
(63,771 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)rain, Cape and Islands, and a goodly amount of rain in eastern MA.
I lost my landline telephone last night. What's odd is I can still get online on the DSL line, but the broadband is out cold...! Who knows how long that will last--I do know that Verizon (what a bunch of surly bastards--we're talking rude!) won't be worrying about us until Monday, "maybe towards the evening."
This may be the end of the landline for me--who knows? I pay an obscene amount for it.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)My parents are out in Mashpee on the Cape. They should be fine though...we've weathered a bunch of these and they aren't right on the water.
CTyankee
(63,771 posts)but OK for my return tomorrow at 3:15, but man, it goes out into the ocean and can be a really rough ride...you know things aren't good when they pass out barf bags on the ferry! I was hoping for quiet water this trip...no such luck,LOL.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)And usually do at least once a year.
cali
(114,904 posts)there are tornado warnings and sometimes tornadoes every year. I've been in one- about 25 years ago. I was at a friend's for dinner deep in the woods and boom, the wind came shrieking a huge tree came crashing through the roof and later we found out that a large swath of his sugar bush was destroyed.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I spent a lot of time gone but a lot of time here, too.
I've NEVER seen this kind of coverage--it's like "Tornado Alley" flipping out on the television.
It's hailing in parts of NE now.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)But strong dangerous thunderstorms are not uncommon this time of year inland. We've had several small tornados in Conn. over the last few years.
MADem
(135,425 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)But I grew up in Virginia. We both know what's going on.
MADem
(135,425 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)The next few decades will be quite something.
MADem
(135,425 posts)ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)have been shortening the length of time this plays out since the '70s. It used to be something we'll have to deal with in a couple of hundred years. Four decades later and they're now measuring the severe effects and tipping points in present terms and in 5-year and decadal time frames, not centuries.
I've lived in New England for over 50 years and though it's certainly not as common as in other parts of the country it's hardly unheard of.
http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Vermont
MADem
(135,425 posts)These things just aren't a regular part of our NE scene...or they haven't been, up to recent, climate-changey, years.
goldent
(1,582 posts)I think the intense coverage of news is changing peoples perceptions of events.
virgogal
(10,178 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Now, the question we have to ask ourselves, is this--Is this the new normal, or is this a twice-a-century occurrence?
The shit is hitting the fan just northwest of Worcester now.
Boston and CT are OK until ten PM, so they are saying--good thing because they're doing the "Cereal That's Shot From Guns" concert on the Esplanade this evening (moved up a day due to the hurricane/tropical storm headed this way).
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)But it seems we're seeing them more and more up this way.
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)I remember tornadoes touching down every so often in the Hartford area. They were small--probably F0 or F1, which generally don't cause much damage.
Then I moved to Texas. Amazingly strong thunderstorms and big tornadoes all spring and summer. I greatly preferred Connecticut.
MADem
(135,425 posts)you're screaming Auntie Em, Auntie Em as the house hurtles through the clouds!
Fla Dem
(23,352 posts)in fact the Worcester Ma tornado in 1953 was very damaging.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Worcester_tornado
"The 1953 Worcester tornado was an extremely powerful tornado that struck the city and surrounding area of Worcester, Massachusetts on June 9, 1953. It was part of the FlintWorcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a three-day period from June 69, 1953. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across Central Massachusetts. In total, 94 people were killed, making it the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the United States."
I worked in the Pru Tower for many years, and remember a tornado warning just northwest of Boston, we all ran to the windows to see if we could see it coming. Thankfully it never developed.
MADem
(135,425 posts)They're rare here.
Tornadoes today...and a hurricane (unrelated to these tornadoes) heading our way tomorrow.
Fla Dem
(23,352 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I'm well south of that, I was just...shocked!
Skittles
(152,967 posts)they can happen anywhere in America; you're just surprised because you're not in Tornado Alley
MADem
(135,425 posts)From a link elsewhere in the thread:
Tornadoes are fairly uncommon in the US region of New England. Fewer tornadoes are recorded here than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.
Skittles
(152,967 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)derby378
(30,252 posts)Since man-made global climate change doesn't exist, anyway...
MADem
(135,425 posts)I shouldn't be laughing but that was funny.
These are, apparently, a "completely different system" than the hurricane heading our way, per my tee vee!
I guess I will take the advice of our fearless overlords.... Nothing to see here, citizen...watch a reality show!! Stop worrying!!!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)a short distance (100 feet or so) before dissipating.
Note though that "two of the ten most destructive tornadoes in US history occurred in this region."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornadoes_in_New_England
MADem
(135,425 posts)They're shitting bricks over at NECN. The maps are red and yellow with zillions of lightning strikes!!!!
And that link says what I had a sense of:
Tornadoes are fairly uncommon in the US region of New England. Fewer tornadoes are recorded here than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)I only get ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, ION, PBS, and such.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)I don't know much more except we get it on Comcast.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)Or I can get U verse TV. I opted for U verse for internet and put up a clear stream 4 HD antenna for TV.
MADem
(135,425 posts)up in Bangor or down in Providence--they'll feed in to NECN and widen the coverage area very quickly.
Of course, it's associated w/cable TV, but there ya go...
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)Thunderstorms occur without tornados, but tornados never occur without thunderstorms.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)You have Arthur lingering around and that is going to cause disturbances. Please take advice to stay indoors and out of harms way, MADem. We might disagree on occasion but you are too important around here to be blown away!
MADem
(135,425 posts)We're supposed to get more weather right after the concert on the Esplanade ends (Deval Patrick just did a nice reading, now they're doing a West Side Story medley)--they pushed it all up a day earlier. Crowds are lighter than usual but very enthusiasic nonetheless!
Can't wait for the 1812 (aka "The Cereal That's Shot From Guns!" .
Aerows
(39,961 posts)and I wish I was there because it sounds like fun!
MADem
(135,425 posts)My ancestral home is nearly a hundred years old and made of granite covered brick; it was a fallout shelter during the duck and cover days! No worries for me, I'm just a weather chickenshit and I worry about others in the vicinity!
The weather is moving in, though--they're going to do the fireworks at the Esplanade early!!!!
And they may skip the Cereal that's shot from guns.....waaaaah, sob.....!!!!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I would be up in it!
bunnies
(15,859 posts)It passed right over my building. Dont know if Id be typing this if it had touched ground. Mostly because I usually treat warnings with "meh". Not anymore.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)They are nothing to play with! If it appears that it will hit your area, move everything you can that will fly away or it WILL fly away and possibly hit the house. You probably already know that, but just helpful advice if you didn't.
MgtPA
(1,022 posts)Wtf?
Tree-Hugger
(3,364 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)malaise
(267,830 posts)and stay safe
MADem
(135,425 posts)passed--I have a feeling that tonite and tomorrow are going to be interesting.....
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)There was one a couple years ago in western MA. I remember my mother telling me about one at her aunts in Derry, NH back in the 40s.
lovuian
(19,362 posts)as temperatures rise so will windspeeds
MADem
(135,425 posts)don't really need more wind up this way!!!!
edhopper
(33,208 posts)on Earth.
But guess country which has the most per area?
MADem
(135,425 posts)All I know is that they're RARE in New England....!
Now they're saying the shit is hitting the fan in Essex County, north of Boston!
There is a shitload of RED and YELLOW to the west of us!!!!
edhopper
(33,208 posts)They are less powerful than the ones here, but they get them often
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_climatology
MADem
(135,425 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)derecho roll through the Syracuse area over Labor Day weekend, killed two State Fair workers. Took the 3rd floor off of a building across the creek from where I worked.
MADem
(135,425 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)like a freight train coming through. Took out a 100+ year old pine tree in front of the local octagon house. Luckily the tree fell west to east no north to south which would have done damage to the house/museum.
MADem
(135,425 posts)West coast, Asia, middle east, Europe...it's like they follow me or something!
There was actually a little halfassed earthquake in NE that I was here for, didn't notice it, though!
But tornadoes--those are a new thing to me. I've only seen 'em on the TV!
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)hit several times in the past few years.
For us, up here, though, it's a twice-a-century kind of thing.
Fortunately, so far, anyway, today isn't our day!! But damn, I never saw the news do the Freak Out quite so dramatically---beeping, lots of pointing to red and yellow on the map, hands waving, fast talking...! If I turned down the volume I would have thought I was back in Roma!
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)Almost aways just cool to look at.
Most of FL tornado's are weak F0s but we get
more destructive ones.
I was in my pool,this was over a decade ago, one summer
afternoon and my weather radio went off, severe T-Storms
in the area. Meh, happens all the time. Didn't hear any thunder.
Then I look up and see clear cloud rotation right over me!!
A F0 dropped out of that cloud about 2 miles west of my
house and trashed a abandoned gas station.
Cool.
MADem
(135,425 posts)greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)Next to my pool cage got hit by lightning
a year later, now THAT got my attention!
Set the darn thing on fire but the coming downpour
put it out.
Burned out by Dish-Network Sat TV receiver and
two TVs. That is covered under house insurance, very
common here.
Still...
MADem
(135,425 posts)She called it "Dead City" because "Nuthin' ever happens round heah!"
Any time she'd hear a rumble of thunder, she'd run around flapping her arms and saying "Oh no, we gotta un-PLUUUUUUUUG!" She'd run around unplugging all the appliances and the tee vee, too!
Hilarious! She'd "Un-PLUUUUUUUUG" whenever she'd leave the house, too, just in case!
My greatest contribution to her life was turning her on to power strips!
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)I was gonna say!!
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)We are second in the world for amount of tornadoes, next to the US. When I was a kid an F4 touched down within a mile of my house and went on to kill 27 people. In my county we get about one tornado warning a year and our province sees, on average, 12-15 reported tornadoes a year.
They are everywhere.
SecularMotion
(7,981 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)Most tend to be small events but as noted above there have been two larger ones with fatalities in the past 20 years.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)We also had one last year. http://foxct.com/local-news/stories/tornado-hits-connecticut/
bunnies
(15,859 posts)Showed up as a tornado on the radar but it didnt touch ground. I got to see the rotation from directly underneath it. I tried to take pics but was shaking too much.
When the warning blasted over my phone I thought it must have been a mistake. Nope. It was right outside my door. Never been scared like that before.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Can't say as I blame you for being freaked out!
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)or bay.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Yes, you can get tornados in Western Mass.
The fact that there isn't a lot of flat land out there usually negates it. Otherwise, there'd be a lot more.
By the way, the Worcester baseball team was named the Tornadoes.
MADem
(135,425 posts)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_Tornadoes
They bit the dust a couple of years ago; a brand new team is in town, the BRAVEHEARTS!
Wonder if they paint their faces blue and drink like Mel Gibson...?
sheshe2
(83,355 posts)Seems that our area Metro West may see some severe weather too.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Make sure the windows are closed!!!
At least the hurricane headed this way has downgraded to a TS again--and no one needs to water the lawn for the next day or four!
sheshe2
(83,355 posts)It was fast and furious here last night. The sky was lighting up like crazy and I watched it move eastward toward Boston.
MADem
(135,425 posts)through the pre-recorded/last year version of "The Cereal That's Shot From Guns" on the TV! (Yes, we were watching the Esplanade!).
MerryBlooms
(11,728 posts)warnings get triggered and the sirens go off when the radar picks up rotation. It doesn't necessarily mean a tornado, but get your ass to your safe room.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Bike helmets, motorcycle helmets, hard hats...!
Really, if I lived in a "tornado alley" I'd put that into my routine!
I'm in my well-built fortress lair (I live in a house that was designated a fallout shelter in the scary nuclear fifties--they even defaced the front of it with one of those ugly signs for a mercifully brief period)--the walls are a foot thick and it has a grand basement! When I say "Safe as houses" I mean it!!
mercuryblues
(14,491 posts)spawn tornadoes. It is that simple.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Hurricanes in Nova Scotia???
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Response to Manifestor_of_Light (Reply #76)
Marrah_G This message was self-deleted by its author.
MADem
(135,425 posts)but who knows?
They usually peter out that far up. Wonder if it will hold together till it gets up that way?
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)I believe Hurricane Juan made landfall as a cat 2 storm there. The difference is this one is earlier than usual...the storms that make it up there usually do so in September or later.
bluedigger
(17,077 posts)FB friend just posted this news report a few minutes ago:
http://wgme.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/storms-destroy-roads-rumford-23067.shtml#.U7X4BfldVTs
MADem
(135,425 posts)Hall Hill Road and parts of South Rumford Road are closed. Rushing flood waters took out the soil underneath the pavement, causing sections of the roads to collapse.
Rumford town manager John Madigan says this is the fifth straight year that towns in Oxford County have been hit by a violent, damaging storm and he says if FEMA can't help, the state of Maine should.
Madigan says: These are happening every year. And there was an effort a few years ago from the town of Brownville to try to get some legislation to deal with these kinds of microbursts. And the legislature didn't deal with it. So they are going to have to start rethinking that.
The governor up there is really horrid; he's running the joint into the ground...!
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)Pretty famous tornadoes here in NE
1953 or therebouts, Worcester MA
Late 1970s one that went through the Air Museum in Windsor CT
Another one in Great Barrington, MA 1996 or 1997
And the June 1, 2011 tornado that went through Springfield and continued east for many miles
Those are the main ones that come to mind...
MADem
(135,425 posts)They're hen's teeth here--or at least, they always have been. By comparison, anyway.
Seems to me the weather is getting more and more....severe up in here!!!!!
kentauros
(29,414 posts)I read on Dr. Jeff Masters' blog earlier this year that as the climate changes, storms will form sooner off the west coast of Africa and turn north sooner, too. That means fewer storms for us on the Gulf of Mexico and more storms heading up the East Coast, with enough staying power to end up in England and Europe.
Remember that thread we had the other day for which European country you'd want to live in? Most picked northern countries, presumably for the better governments there. That could end up being a poor choice after all as those regions end up getting more storm remains (or possibly full tropical storms) lobbed upon housing and buildings which have never been designed for storms of that nature.
Sandy may have been a freak storm, but Irene wasn't.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)funnel clouds.
We had severe thunderstorms here the past two days with multiple reports of funnel clouds, which they won't even call a tornado unless/until it makes contact with the ground.
I don't recall ever hearing about that many funnel clouds here
Sometimes I feel like I live in the best possible area, natural disaster-wise.
The only really fearsome and relatively more common things where I live are ice storms.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I hope we don't have a winter like the last one--I shoveled enough snow to completely reconnect with those childhood winters when I was living up this way! (Hire a plow man? Hell no--that's what CHILDREN are for!!!!) Getting too old for that crap!
I go out of my way to "provision well" when winter comes. I always have enough stuff on hand in case we get snowed--or ice'd--in! I hate the power outages that come along with those damn ice storms, too!
littlemissmartypants
(22,418 posts)I'm not going to sleep a wink until the watch is dropped here.
freethought
(2,457 posts)Back in the 1990s a tornado touched down in western Massachusetts. I actually was in the area on work not long after and saw the damage. It looked like a gigantic lawn mower had gone crazy in a heavily forested area. This actually led to the downfall of then governor Bill Weld. He didn't seem too interested in what had happened and didn't make a public appearance for days.
MADem
(135,425 posts)IIRC Jesse Helms thwarted his ambitions.
He's living in NYC now - got rid of his wife and left us Bay Staters behind...!
Tanuki
(14,893 posts)My nephew is camping with his friends in just that area.
MADem
(135,425 posts)He may get wet again today, too!
camping at Prospect Lake by any chance?
Kber
(5,043 posts)They got wet, but nothing else.
Quixote1818
(28,904 posts)Map of average number of tornadoes each year:
More info: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cae/svrwx/tornadobystate.htm