Because of the nature of the OCR technology, sometimes the language can appear to be nonsensical. . The six fatalities at Brookside were the most in any one building in the tornado's path.[13]. [6][11], The tornado descended over the Quabbin Reservoir in Petersham, Massachusetts, at 4:25 P.M., and was witnessed by boaters on the reservoir - three funnels were seen at the beginning, with rapid dissipation of one of them. USA, Southborough, Today at QCC, there is a memorial for all those who died on June 9, 1953. See also: Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts. USA, Templeton, 44 cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. The resources of the Red Cross were depleted, as 1953 was considered one of the worst tornado periods in history. When it hit the county seat of Worcesterthe second most populated city in Massachusetts and home to over 200,000 people at the timethe storm was a mile wide. Weve updated the security on the site. Someone found a wedding dress in Worcester hanging from a telephone wire in Natick. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. The worst devastation occurred in the newer sections of Worcester and surrounding suburbs. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. As federal food benefits decline, Mass. National Weather Service forecasters in Boston knew a tornado was likely. Worcester was not spared. In the mid-atmosphere, the elevated mixed layer was still in place, keeping storms from forming earlier in the day before maximum temperatures were reached. It traveled over 60 miles over the course of nearly an hour and half through Barre, Rutland, Holden and Shrewsbury. 44 cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. You can always change this later in your Account settings. The storm killed 116 people in the northern Flint suburb of Beecher, and injured 844. Following three Worcester police ambulances, cruisers and fire apparatus to Great Brook Valley, I stopped to see hundreds of people walking blindly about in a stupor. USA. On June 9, 1953, an extremely powerful tornado struck the city and surrounding area of Worcester, Massachusetts. At the Nashua and Lawrence stations, it registered 106. Ninety-four people were killed, and about 1,300 more were injured, making it the 3rd deadliest tornado in American history at the time. In all, the 1953 Worcester Tornado was a devastating natural disaster that will forever live in infamy among Worcester residents. "Did it hit in Shrewsbury?" Finally it petered out over Framingham,having gobbled up everything in its way. There's not one pleasant, light moment . . Please enter your email and password to sign in. Tornado in New England, by Marvin Richmond (a 20-minute newsreel documenting the tornado's aftermath). The deadly twister belonged to an outbreak of tornadoes over the northern United States for three days, from June 6-9. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across Central Massachusetts. As it arrived in Holden, a western suburb of Worcester, the tornado claimed the lives of 11 people. After the Fujita scale was developed in 1971, the storm was classified as F4, the second highest rating on the scale. A film on the Worcester Tornado, June 9, 1953. "They knew it was very hot, they knew it got very dark, they saw the hail, but they still, I don't think they really believed that it was a tornado or knew what it meant," Conroy said. A devastating year of tornadoes was capped by the deadliest December tornado in U.S. history. A system error has occurred. The interior furnishings, however, were untouched. Weve updated the security on the site. "I think the fact that he gave the Red Cross the $7,500 is testament to how much it meant to him," the son said. With the Cold War escalating and U.S. troops fighting in Korea, schoolchildren learned to "duck and cover" during air raid drills, and citizens were urged to know how to find the nearest shelters. As a result of this debate, the National Weather Service took an unprecedented step and convened a panel of weather experts during the spring of 2005 to study the latest evidence on the wind strength of the Worcester tornado. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. It was part of the FlintWorcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a three-day period from June 69, 1953. It is the deadliest and most destructive tornado to ever hit the New England area. It grabbed bodies and entire houses and tossed them intoLake Quinsigamond. 94 people were killed, making this tornado the 21st most deadly in the history of the United States. The June 9, 1953 "Worcester Tornado" killed 94 people and injured more than 1,250. Others tried to contain the fires that had broken out when downed power lines and open gas jets ignited. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. People witnessed terrifying sights windows and doors exploded, rooms full of furniture, even sofas and pianos, were sucked out into the maelstrom. Instead the weather experts said, It cant happen here.. To use this feature, use a newer browser. On June 7, 1953, a strong shortwave trough moved eastward over the Rocky Mountains, bringing with it strong upward motion that induced lee cyclogenesis: the formation of a low-pressure area over eastern Colorado. Down the street a grown man came running, sobbing as I have never seen a man cry. All of a sudden a shout of "FIRE" broke out and one of the units burst into flames. The tornado lasted 84 minutes, mowing a path about 45 miles long from Petersham to Southborough. Lots of clothing, home insulation, and lumber. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Worcester County, Veterans of WWII felt as if they were back in a combat zone. Storm Prediction Center. Mothers were holding children in their arms, covered with blood. In the days leading up to the Worcester Tornado, it was experiencing a heat wave of temperatures over 90 F. Hes an award-winning reporter, host and producer who has been with GBH since 2006. There were several eyewitness accounts, people who saw things like buses, storage tanks, and other debris thrown at buildings and homes, destroying them completely. The Worcester tornado of 1953 struck without warning and cut a swath of destruction, at times a mile wide, through a half-dozen towns. In June of 2003, on the 50th anniversary of the Worcester tornado, survivors shared memories of the traumatic event. I've been a news photographer for more than 15 years, covering everything from newborn infants to murders, but I can hardly reach for the words in my vocabulary to describe what I saw about 5 o'clock yesterday. Slideshow. Some who saw the black funnel approach thought it was being circled by birds, until they realized that the "birds" were pieces of debris lumber, trees, livestock, furniture whirling around the funnel. Pictures in the He could not find his wife, and calmly over in a corner of a building were 15 mothers feeding their babies their needed bottles. The tally of 10,000 homeless stood unchallenged for 26 years until the '79 Wichita Falls storm. With your support, GBH will continue to innovate, inspire and connect through reporting you value that meets todays moments. At this time few doctors had arrived, and police, firemen and bystanders were doing all they could to alleviate pain. Survivors remembered that in the minutes before it struck with no warning there was hail as big as potatoes and grapefruit. (The south side was left almost untouched.) There was a problem getting your location. [citation needed] After brushing Petersham (occasionally with twin funnels several hundred feet apart), the tornado tracked southeastwards and slammed into the rural towns of Barre and Rutland, with two fatalities occurring at each of these locations. USA, Holden, 1953 was the first year that tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were used, so forecasters made a deal and issued the first severe thunderstorm watch in the history of Massachusetts. On Maplewood St. in Shrewsbury, where winds knocked houses off center, wallpaper won't stay up, so people paint. Cinderblock and brick buildings were picked up and smashed to rubble. The tornado struck with little to no warning for residents as the decision to inform the public was debated over. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Houses were reduced to splinters of wood and swept away. A high-pressure system collided with a low-pressure mass over Nebraska, which generated tornadoes in Ohio, Michigan and Nebraska. 1953 Worcester, MA. Some pictures depict the destruction done to my great grandfather's (Joe Swanski)home and business (Swannee Auto Body)on W. Boyleston St. Others show Assumption College and surrounding buildings. Over 4,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Worcester alone. This account has been disabled. The funnel maintained a 1-mile (1.6km) width throughout much of Shrewsbury (12 killed), and was still doing maximum damage when it moved through downtown Westborough (five deaths), where it began curving towards the northeast in its final leg. Police cruisers were pleading over loudspeaker systems with everybody not to smoke. The worst tornado moved through Rutland, killing two. Chittick, 2003. The effects of the tornado in Worcester were strong-felt immediately after the natural disaster, and many years after. USA, Kennebunk, Search above to list available cemeteries. The 1953 tornado destroyed not only the windows but also the campus. The most intense damage occurred in a narrow, complex swath of multivortex damage which was generally about 300 yards wide. Boaters on the Quabbin Reservoir first noticed the boiling clouds in the sky, which formed into three funnels. picked him up before he made it and hurled him to his death in a field, 60 people killed in in the city by the tornado, The Cold Friday of 1810 - New England Historical Society, New England's Strongest and Deadliest Tornado Devastated Worcester In 1953 | Weather Concierge, The Wallingford Tornado of 1878 Unleashes Terror on an Unsuspecting Town - New England Historical Society. The Worcester Tornadoes were named after the destructive tornado that hit Worcester on June 9, 1953. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. His older sister June survived, having been thrown through the air on a door and fallen back to earth safely. Follow us so you don't miss a thing! Just a hum that was so deafening and I didnt dare close my eyes because I thought if I close my eyes I am going to die.". The main building's 3-foot (0.91m)-thick brick walls were reduced by three floors, and the landmark tower lost three stories. Photographs show whole streets swept clean, with only slabs and scattered debris left. Worcester demanded a response from the government, but meteorologists quickly disproved the theory, and Congressman Van Zandt later retracted his statement. But the family found their insurance did not cover the damage to their home.
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