Pics vids chase stories from Day of the Twisters SNE style

[weather01089]

This is the youtube link to the video I took:

Ray

[Modfan]

Some from Southbridge, MA on RT 169... amazing forest destruction.

I have no idea how this person's house is still standing... the tornado tore a hole into the hillside behind his house. Not one tree was left standing in a path of woods that went up over the hill beyond the house.

I always thought that Southbridge was overlooked in this event, but they also recieved some heavy damage.

[weather01089]

Wilbraham was one area that we did not directly survey, at least on June 2. However, we do have a lot of photos from the SKYWARN people that I plan on incorporating into my show. The tornado went just south of Palmer.

Also, if you go to the NCDC Storm Data site, they have posted the report on the tornado there. They do mention that at least 13 homes were destroyed in Wilbraham.

Well, Ray, it was tough to see the funnel in West Springfield, at least on this video from the WWLP web cam. Look at the first few minutes. You can see the funnel, but not much debris in it. BTW, this is an excellent review of what happened near the Connecticut River. This video goes about 15 minutes, and shows some damage near the river about 5 minutes or so into it.

http://www.wwlp.com/...-1-2011-tornado

--Turtle

I would hate to underplay the damage done in West Springfield. It totally destroyed 5 homes, aka nothing left, and 40 more had major damage and had to be torn down or rebuilt.

Three industrial buildings were severely damaged enough to be torn down. Dozens of others were damaged.

Two people were killed, one in the rubble of her house, another crushed in a van by a falling tree. Over 70 were sent to the hospital, with several dozen of them injured by

the flying bricks from the fiirst industrial bulding it hit and destroyed. Bricks ffrom that bulding shattered windows in cars and structures to almost a mile away, some being find

inside houses in their living rooms etc. I spoke to one person hit by about 6 of them that blew out a window and hit him.

The power infrastructure from Memorial Ave to Hill ST on Union and Main Streets was totally destroyed and had to be totally rebuit, resulting in 5 days without power in that area.

While the debris isnt that visible in the video taken from above it by the Springfield Cams, there are numerous videos showing the iincredible debris in the air caused when it destroyed the first buildings between union and main sts.

I saw it from 1/3 mile out, and if you look at my video, look under the highway when the highway partially blocked it. You can see an incredible swirl of debris flying around. If you can see it in the HD version, the air was full of it.

The parking lot where I took the video had all kinds of bulding debris in it. You can see it falling toward the end, just before I got hit by hail and went inside.

I took tons of video starting 10 minutes after the tornado hit. Its all in HD and hard to post. Some if it I wont post in respect for the familes of those killed. I new one of them well.

The multiple vortices with this tornado were absolutely amazing. I can identify most of the buildiings they hit, and yoiu can see one buliding one of them sat over and just demolished.

Ray

[Cold Miser]

Good thing nobody posted that in this very thread last night about 7 or 8 posts back.

Is that what kids in "Southie" are like?

I don't know why, but I sat through that train wreck of a video again tonight. Near the end those clowns reveal where they are from - East Providence.

[Turtle]

I would hate to underplay the damage done in West Springfield. It totally destroyed 5 homes, aka nothing left, and 40 more had major damage and had to be torn down or rebuilt.

Ray

You know, it seems you just want to keep stirring the pot on this. YES, this tornado was devastating, especially from sections of West Springfield and Springfield through Wilbraham and Monson to Brimfield and into Sturbridge.

I was NOT downplaying the tornado by any means. I was just reiterating something YOU said about the tornado "skipping" by showing the video from WWLP. Period.

I'm so DONE with this.

--Turtle

[New England Storm]

Boston TV on June 1 2011. I will be loading some stuff from June 2 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wx4newengland#grid/user/9A488DEDDCAEBE6F

[weather01089]

You know, it seems you just want to keep stirring the pot on this. YES, this tornado was devastating, especially from sections of West Springfield and Springfield through Wilbraham and Monson to Brimfield and into Sturbridge.

I was NOT downplaying the tornado by any means. I was just reiterating something YOU said about the tornado "skipping" by showing the video from WWLP. Period.

I'm so DONE with this.

--Turtle

Sorry you misunderstood that, the "skip" took place between Granville and Westfield, then Westfield to Agawam. The WWLP video really doesnt depict that, it starts in West Springfield. It stayed on the ground once it hit

in West Springfield. It is seen lifiting briefly in Videos posted on youtube in Westfield, then you can see no damage between far eastern Westfield and where it hit again in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam,

and no damage between Granville and Colony Rd. in Westfield. I should have clarified that better.

I posted my own video, shot first hand, I didnt post the WWLP video.

I certainly dont accuse or blame you in particular with downplaying this event one bit!! You did a good job that day.

Ray

[adamrivers]

Looking back almost 6 months later-

The devastation that took place still is evident all over the tornado's path. I drive across the path of the tornado every day to get to work and back - homes in the Island Pond/Roosevelt Avenue of Springfield near Cathedral High School are being rebuilt, slowly but steadily....others are vacant and haven't been touched. I was out in Sturbridge last week, and you can still see - very clearly - exactly where the tornado went.

As time allows, I'm going to try and make it out to Brimfield and Monson next week to get "6 months later" pictures.

[weather01089]

Looking back almost 6 months later-

The devastation that took place still is evident all over the tornado's path. I drive across the path of the tornado every day to get to work and back - homes in the Island Pond/Roosevelt Avenue of Springfield near Cathedral High School are being rebuilt, slowly but steadily....others are vacant and haven't been touched. I was out in Sturbridge last week, and you can still see - very clearly - exactly where the tornado went.

As time allows, I'm going to try and make it out to Brimfield and Monson next week to get "6 months later" pictures.

They have demolished many of the buildings and homes in West Springfield that were destroyed/damaged, but some still are there, apparently with arguments in progress with insurance etc.

Westfield shows little sign since the damage was less severe there and mostly trees.

Robinson State Park in Agawam we reopened after sufficient cleanup was done, but is now closed again due to the snowstorm damage.

Ray

[ineedsnow]

The damage from the tornado was pretty bad in Robinson and i dont think alot of people realized it.. As for the snowstorm closing it down i live next to robinson and the sound of the trees breaking during the storm was insane.. constant popping im guessing it will be awhile before they reopen it..

They have demolished many of the buildings and homes in West Springfield that were destroyed/damaged, but some still are there, apparently with arguments in progress with insurance etc.

Westfield shows little sign since the damage was less severe there and mostly trees.

Robinson State Park in Agawam we reopened after sufficient cleanup was done, but is now closed again due to the snowstorm damage.

Ray

[Hailstoned]

A heads up for anyone interested: WBZ TV will be showing the tornado video taken from East Hill Road in Monson, tonight on the 11:00 news. There will also be interviews with people present when the video was taken

[CoastalWx]

WCVB showed a clip from some farm near Monson.....holy cow. It was a dam wedge moving through.

[Turtle]

Guess what?

Channel 5 beat Channel 4 in showing the video!! No interview, but the video was ON! Shown at 1102 PM.

Thanks to you, Hailstoned, for bringing this new, incredible video to light. I have forwarded the video to the WCM at SPC, and all he could say was WOW (like me!).

BTW, I got a note from WBZ. It turns out that the video was shot by a friend of the home owner. He was in town from PA on business. So, that's why this video was unknown until you got it. The interview by the homeowner was rather dramatic, just bringing back the horror of June 1.

--Turtle

[Turtle]

WCVB showed a clip from some farm near Monson.....holy cow. It was a dam wedge moving through.

This is the same video that Hailstoned posted here.

--Turtle

[HurricaneJosh]

Ooooh, sounds kinda hawt. Is the footage online? Link, please!

[CoastalWx]

This is the same video that Hailstoned posted here.

--Turtle

WBZ showing the same one too.

[CoastalWx]

This is the same video that Hailstoned posted here.

--Turtle

That was a beast.

[Turtle]

Ooooh, sounds kinda hawt. Is the footage online? Link, please!

Hi Josh!!

Here's the other thread that the original link was posted in:

http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/27844-monson-tornado-pic/page__st__40

Just look for the threads by Hailstoned. It's about half way down the page, a YouTube video.

Get ready...it is AMAZING!!

--Turtle

[HurricaneJosh]

Hi Josh!!

Here's the other thread that the original link was posted in:

http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/27844-monson-tornado-pic/page__st__40

Just look for the threads by Hailstoned. It's about half way down the page, a YouTube video.

Get ready...it is AMAZING!!

--Turtle

Ah, OK-- the 30-second one with the dudes talking? Yeah, it's a good clip. The clarity is awesome.

[HoarfrostHubb]

EF4 lol

Kidding kidding

Great video Hailstoned What was the reason the 2 stations reported on this?

[Turtle]

EF4 lol

Kidding kidding

Great video Hailstoned What was the reason the 2 stations reported on this?

I can't tell you why, but I can give you some background on how Channel 4 got it...my fault.

Last Saturday, we had a meeting at the office with our SKYWARN ham radio group to get ready for training and SKYWARN recognition day on 12/3. Prior to the meeting, the SKYWARN ham coordinator invited the TV mets (yeah, all the Boston ones plus Matt Noyes from NECN, and possibly Providence) to attend. Most could not, but Joe Joyce did. He arrived about an hour after the meeting started. (And YES, AmWx was recognized during the meeting!)

I was there, as well as two of the other BOX forecasters (BillB and Steph). Before the second break, they asked if anyone had something to share. Well, I thought that video was INCREDIBLE, so one of the ham guys that had wireless let me call up the video on his machine. He had it hooked up to our projector, so (giving proper credit to Hailstoned and AmWx!!) I showed the video. WELL, needless to say, Joe sought me out after the meeting and askde about the video. He wanted it, badly. I explained about trying to get permission and credit purposes to use the video in our SKYWARN shows. He wanted that, too. I was in communication with Channel 4's weather producer, and they also wanted to do interviews with the folks near where that portion of the tornado went by. Either Joe or the producer managed to get Hailstoned's e-mail address offline, and the rest is, as they say, is history.

Actually, I felt kind of bad afterwards, as I should have shared this with ALL the TV mets. My guess is, after Channel 4 was doing their promos for Friday night's 11 PM newscast, Channel 5 found it on YouTube. I don't know how they got the gentleman's name to use for credit.

Just my 2 cents worth.

--Turtle

[HoarfrostHubb]

Very interesting. Too bad i missed the segments.

[Hailstoned]

What a convoluted series of events! I first became aware of the video last month when volunteering at West View Farm on East Hill Road in Monson, selling tee shirts, etc. for a tree re-planting project in Monson. Naturally, many of the generous people who came by to contribute had their tornado stories, and I was all ears. A woman who lives almost next door to West View Farm casually mentioned that a short video of the tornado had been shot from her neighbor's home. That really got my attention, because East Hill Road provides magnificent vistas to the rolling hills to the west-- you can see all the way to Mt. Tom from there.

I asked this woman if she wouldn't mind emailing me the video, which she promptly did. I then asked her permission to share it here; she replied that that should be no problem, as the video had already been widely shared on Facebook. So I uploaded it to Youtube so I could post it on this forum.

Then as Turtle reports, Joe Joyce and WBZ became hot to trot to air the video, and (to their credit) began emailing me to get permission. I called the family from whose home the video originated, but didn’t hear back. But apparently they took action. The next day (this past Friday) I got an email from the man who shot the video, a businessman in Pennsylvania, who sent along his contact information. This I passed along to WBZ, and they apparently secured permission and rushed a crew to Monson to interview members of the family from whose home the video had been shot. (I haven’t yet seen either WBZ’s or WCVB’s coverage—anyone have links?)

I’m disappointed WCVB beat WBZ to the punch. Joe Joyce and his producer Terry Eliasen, did the right thing by taking pains to get permission before airing, even though perhaps it wasn’t technically needed, the video having already been circulated on Facebook. As Turtle speculates, WCVB probably got the video from my Youtube posting.

Oh well. What matters most is that it’s out there as clear, historic documentation of a rare wedge tornado in New England.

[Turtle]

Hello!

Hailstoned asked about a link for the WBZ story from the 11/18 airing of the video.

Here it is...

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/11/18/home-video-shows-tornado-approaching-monson/

Both a written story and the video (after you put up with a short commercial to start). But, there it is.

--Turtle

[HoarfrostHubb]

Thanks for the additional info and the story was well done by WBZ. Don Kent would be proud

[CT Rain]

Great vids!

[CT Rain]

I can't tell you why, but I can give you some background on how Channel 4 got it...my fault.

Last Saturday, we had a meeting at the office with our SKYWARN ham radio group to get ready for training and SKYWARN recognition day on 12/3. Prior to the meeting, the SKYWARN ham coordinator invited the TV mets (yeah, all the Boston ones plus Matt Noyes from NECN, and possibly Providence) to attend. Most could not, but Joe Joyce did. He arrived about an hour after the meeting started. (And YES, AmWx was recognized during the meeting!)

I was there, as well as two of the other BOX forecasters (BillB and Steph). Before the second break, they asked if anyone had something to share. Well, I thought that video was INCREDIBLE, so one of the ham guys that had wireless let me call up the video on his machine. He had it hooked up to our projector, so (giving proper credit to Hailstoned and AmWx!!) I showed the video. WELL, needless to say, Joe sought me out after the meeting and askde about the video. He wanted it, badly. I explained about trying to get permission and credit purposes to use the video in our SKYWARN shows. He wanted that, too. I was in communication with Channel 4's weather producer, and they also wanted to do interviews with the folks near where that portion of the tornado went by. Either Joe or the producer managed to get Hailstoned's e-mail address offline, and the rest is, as they say, is history.

Actually, I felt kind of bad afterwards, as I should have shared this with ALL the TV mets. My guess is, after Channel 4 was doing their promos for Friday night's 11 PM newscast, Channel 5 found it on YouTube. I don't know how they got the gentleman's name to use for credit.

Just my 2 cents worth.

--Turtle

Thanks for the invite

[Turtle]

Thanks for the invite

Sorry, Ryan. Wasn't my meeting to invite you. It was set up by the SKYWARN ham guys...we just hosted. I don't know why they wouldn't invite you guys, other than it's 2+ hours each way. Do you interact with the SKYWARN guys?

Hey, use the video! It's freely out there now.

--Turtle

[Turtle]

Thanks for the additional info and the story was well done by WBZ. Don Kent would be proud.

Having seen both stories Friday night, I agree. Channel 4 did a great job. It looked like Channel 5 just threw it on air, no background or anything. I think their story only lasted about 20 seconds, that's it.

And yes, Don would have been proud.

--Turtle

[weather01089]

Thanks for the invite

Thanks for the invite

RyanI dont think they invited any of the Springfield/hartford Mets.

We need to correct that next one we have (2 per year normally).

Actually I think this is the first they invited ANY of the TV mets. The meetings are mainly for Skywarn personell, but recently thats been expanded a bit.

Ray