Tornadoes appeared daily from minnesota in the north to texas in the south. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across. A recount of the flintbeecher, michigan tornado of 1953 that took 116 lives. Heritage zen photos from the worcester tornado, june 9, 1953. The book, written in 1993 and still available through amazon, is an. This is part 2 of this special film made on the aftermath of one of the worst tornado events in new englands history. Survivors recall the devastation of the 1953 worcester tornado. At the time this book was written, the worcester tornado had the highest tornadic winds in recorded history, at 321 mph.
The photos posted here, taken after the worcester tornado in 1953, were with the items she sent me. Worcester, ma tornado june 9, 1953 weather history. Ls of the town street totally destroyed by tornado. Flint worcester tornado outbreak sequence, 1953 waco tornado outbreak, 1953 vicksburg, mississippi tornado outbreak, 1953 sarnia, ontario tornado.
Weather almanac for june 2003 the worcester tornado of 1953. And books and clothing ended up at blue hill on outer cape cod. In this almanac, i will look at a massachusetts tornado and the influence it had on three men who would further our understanding of tornadoes and severe storms. The 1953 flint worcester tornado outbreak sequence was a devastating tornado outbreak sequence spanning three days, two of which featured tornadoes each causing at least 90 deathsan f5 occurring in flint, michigan, on june 8, 1953, and an f4 in worcester, massachusetts, on june 9. The boston daily globe front page the day after the deadly tornado of june 9, 1953. June 79, 1953 the flint worcester outbreak stormstalker. The tornado of 1953 northborough historical society. Spawning a bestselling book and a film by the same name, this 1991. On this day in 1953, worcester county was devastated by the strongest tornado ever to hit new england.
The tornado resulted in 116 fatalities and 844 injuries. These 3 storms were also unique in occurring within a 30day period. There are some clips on youtube of video of a couple of the tornadoes in that outbreak. Rare footage taken from the inside the worcester wedge of 1953, the mile wide wedge tornado carved a path through the northeastern parts of a massachusetts this tornado was rated ef4 but. People didnt really know that it was coming, said robyn conroy, librarian and archivist at worcester historical museum, who runs an oral history project about the 1953 worcester tornado, talking with survivors about what they experienced that day. These were my sisters mary ellen, age six, and brenda, almost four, and my brother joe, two. Rare footage taken from the inside the worcester wedge of 1953, the mile wide wedge tornado carved a path through the northeastern parts of a massachusetts this tornado was rated ef4 but possibly. It was 1,000 yards wide and traveled a full 46 miles through central massachusetts.
The tornado then proceeded to pass through a farm field, where it struck a farmhouse and killed two people. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading 42 miles of hell. The worcester, massachusetts tornado of june 9, 1953, was the final event from a threeday tornado sequence. This is the most tornado fatalities ever from a single tornado. Tornado of 1953 worcester historical museum worcester. Worcester, ma f4 tornado june 9, 1953 tornado talk. Worcester, ma tornado 1953 wed, jun 10, 1953 1 hartford courant hartford, connecticut. It is reprinted today on the anniversary of the june 9, 1953, tornado. Flintworcester tornado outbreak sequence wikipedia.
From radarscope photographs, it is pointed out 1 that the worcester tornado and the franklinwrentham tornado each occurred in the rightrear quadrant of a squallline thunderstorm cell, and 2 that this relative position, with an associated tail or hook in the radar echo, is similar to that of the illinois tornado of april 9, 1953. Welcome to the official governmental website for the city of worcester, ma. Worcester, ma tornado 1953 national weather museum. The devastating story behind the worcester tornado in. The infamous june 9, 1953, worcester county tornado has been replaced in the record books by sunday nights devastating twister in joplin, mo. As the storm moved eastward at approximately 35 mph, it hit the towns of rutland and holden, where 11 people were killed. Chittick has published his own account of the tornado. Ive heard limited stories about the tornado in my life. The 1953 worcester tornado was an extremely powerful tornado that struck the city and surrounding area of worcester, massachusetts on tuesday, june 9, 1953. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across central massachusetts. Worcester residents recall devastating june 1953 tornado. It was part of the flint worcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a threeday period from june 69, 1953.
The 1953 waco tornado outbreak was a series of at least 33 tornadoes occurring in 10 different u. I lived through this tornado, even though our house was totally blown away while we were in it. With winds close to 300 mph, the twister traveled 46 miles across the county, reaching its peak intensity in worcester. It is the deadliest and most destructive tornado to ever hit the new england area.
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. I too was surprised to see the path straying so far from the f5 damage in worcester. Remembering the deadly f4 tornado that ravaged worcester.
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on youtube. The tornado first touched down in petersham about 4. Tornado of 1953 in and around worcester, massachusetts. The worcester tornado, june 9, 1953 the tornado from the eastern shore of indian lake. The worst tornado to ever hit the area was in 1953. Front wall is missing and rooms or whatever is left. This changed with the oklahoma tornado in the late 1990s and the nashville tornado a year or two later. The front page of the boston globe from june 10, 1953, recorded the most catastrophic tornado ever to hit central massachusetts. The weather doctor almanac 2003 the worcester tornado of 1953. The worst tornado in new england history strikes worcester. Contact and book john today references the great worcester tornado description. But what worcester experienced in 1953 was unmatched in the. When the sky turns a deep purple and rumbling thunder advances from the northwest, they pay.
Cinderblock and brick buildings were picked up and smashed to rubble. The 1953 worcester tornado was an extremely powerful tornado that struck the city and. It came to be known as the 1953 worcester tornado, part of the flint worcester tornado outbreak sequence, a series of tornado outbreaks that occurred in worcester and flint, michigan from june 69, 1953. On june 8th, an f5 hit flint, michigan and on june 9th, an f4 struck worcester massachusetts. Worcester, ma terrible tornado death and damage, june 1953. In june of 1953, the recently instituted practice of issuing tornado warnings was. Here is the only movie of the skies during the tornado, followed by a survey of the damage. On june 9, 1953, an f4 tornado touched down in petersham at about 4. The 1953 worcester tornado was the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the united states.
Massachusetts, as william chittick described in his 2003 book on the event. The worcester tornado of 1953 struck without warning and cut a swath of destruction, at times a mile wide, through a halfdozen towns. Severe storms began on june 7th over the central plains before spreading into michigan and ohio on the 8th. In 2003, to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of the june 9, 1953 tornado, worcester historical museum reached out to the community and asked them to share their stories and images of this tragic date in worcester s history where 94 people lost their lives. The 14 most infamous storms on the north shore woodmans of. It would be interesting to hear you tell that story and point out things that you feel are significant.
Remembering the tornado of 1953 the devastating tornado ripped through worcester and surrounding towns, killing more than 90, and causing millions in damage. In a matter of minutes the flintbeecher tornado of 1953. The story of the worcester tornado of 53 kindle edition by worcester telegram and gazette. Worcester, ma tornado 1953 wed, jun 10, 1953 1 hartford courant hartford, connecticut the worcester, massachusetts tornado of june 9, 1953, was the final event from a threeday tornado sequence. Moms account of the june 8, 1953, flintbeecher tornado lisa hedger 682016 in 1953, my mother, mary cowell, lived on north dort highway in beecher, michigan, in a twostory farmhouse with her three young children. Rare extreme footage from the worcester tornado of 1953. The 1953 worcester tornado rated an f4, perhaps reaching f5 at times began in petersham. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Today is the anniversary of the flintbeecher tornado of june 8, 1953. Check out the video below from youtube channel moviemagg for a glimpse at. For the survivors of the june 9, 1953, worcester county tornado there is one common denominator. It struck waco, texas, on may 11, causing 114 of the 144 deaths in the outbreak.
On june 9, 1953, a devastatingly powerful tornado hit the city of worcester and the surrounding areas. Video of before the tornado, and damage following it youtube. It was a stifling spring day on june 9th, 1953, when a merciless black funnel of wind touched down at 4. The result was an impressive archive of stories, images and film that document the emotional. The year 1953 saw some of the deadliest tornadoes in u.
For 90 minutes it stayed on the ground, traveling 48 miles from petersham. See more ideas about worcester, worcester massachusetts and tornado damage. The squall line and massachusetts tornadoes of june 9, 1953. It was the worst tornado in new england history, and one of the 25 worst tornadoes in u. Per thomas grazulis in significant tornadoes, an f5 rating could have been given to this event. In a slideshow about the flintworcester tornadoes, the nws show some. Here you will find all city administration, services and information related to worcester. The worcester, ma tornado occurred during the midafternoon time on june 9, 1953. It set down just before dinner time and close enough to quabbin reservoir that boaters saw it.
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