Great Writeup of June 01 EF3 Tornado tha tore thre S/Cent. Mass

[HoarfrostHubb]

So how many total tornadoes? 4?

[Turtle]

Not to Blizz's defense, but I saw one "newer" house completely wiped off its foundation on Rt.19 in Brimfield. Not sure if that constitutes EF4 damage or not, but to me, everything else looked like high end EF3. Impressive either way.

In the end, it's the professionals that have the knowledge base to make the justification.

Several homes, including newer ones in both Monson and Brimfield, were blown off their foundations and destroyed. The big reason for this was because these homes were not anchored to their foundations! Even one of the older homes that I saw destroyed in Monson was blown off its foundation. Another house in Brimfield was on a hill and blown off its foundation, then broke apart as it rolled down the hill. Whom would think that homeowners in Massachusetts would need to retrofit their homes with metal straps and anchor their homes to their foundations?

This is why we (NWS) go out there to investigate the damage, and take this all into account in order to make the determination.

And agreed, very impressive either way.

--Turtle

[HoarfrostHubb]

NWS did a fine job with the report

[TheTrials]

Several homes, including newer ones in both Monson and Brimfield, were blown off their foundations and destroyed. The big reason for this was because these homes were not anchored to their foundations! Even one of the older homes that I saw destroyed in Monson was blown off its foundation. Another house in Brimfield was on a hill and blown off its foundation, then broke apart as it rolled down the hill. Whom would think that homeowners in Massachusetts would need to retrofit their homes with metal straps and anchor their homes to their foundations?

This is why we (NWS) go out there to investigate the damage, and take this all into account in order to make the determination.

And agreed, very impressive either way.

--Turtle

It's shocking that you would have more knowledge on making the determination than Blizz, after all, he went out there and did his own survey.

[HoarfrostHubb]

KFS is gonna rock you

[#NoPoles]

just wanted to chime in that i have been working on a DCR team that has traveled to the tornadoe damaged areas and started the reforestation process...it may seem like a small number compared to the damage, but i have been part of replanting effort of over 400 shade trees starting with Monson last fall...this spring we planted in Charlton, Sturbridge, and Brimfield...

the damge path is still amazing, and i have to admit, when i saw what it looks like almost a year later it brought tears to my eyes...i didn't get to take pics because i was busy working with homeowners and other volunteers to get trees in the ground...those communities were so greatful to have us out there and i enjoyed every saturday i had to work...infact, i don't even consider it work at all...

i wish there was more money to get another round of trees and go back out and plant...

i was able to chat with homeowners and hear their own personal stories...just incredible stuff...

i'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it

[ineedsnow]

Im still amazed that only 3 people were killed with a storm like that going threw as many towns as it did you would have thought it would have been alot more but thank god it wasnt

[Guvna]

Bob,

I don't have the track map available right now. I had to create the path for that tornado based on the Storm Data report into the PowerPoint slide I have. I will try to convert the slide to JPEG or GIF file and post here.

In the meantime, here's the narrative from our Storm Data report:

http://www.ncdc.noaa...s.jsp?id=310786

Enjoy!!

--Turtle

Great write-up. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I knew there was another touchdown because I followed this circulation for miles.

This pic was just west of Wells State Park...basically over the Wal-Mart on Rt. 20 in Sturbridge.

This picture was a few minutes later of the circulation on the ground. Looking down Rt.49 from Rt.20

[CoastalWx]

Chronicle had a nice piece about the area 1 yr later. Man some of the pics are jaw dropping...just nothing left but brown Earth in some spots. FEMA/MEMA seem to be up to the usual bureaucratic bullsh*t. People had some issues with them.

[Damage In Tolland]

I wonder if/when/how long it'll be till we see another ef4 like this one around SNE?

[WXheights]

http://squallwx.com/papers/EML2010.pdf

Big Plains like Severe WX days here in the Northeast are greatly linked to "Elevated Mixing Layer" (EML) or steep lapse rates which when conditions are right, transition across the eastern half of the country and set the stage for the "loaded gun" convection. This goes into that and is worth noting.

There is an excellent update collaborated from the Albany, Burlington, Gray and Taunton offices on the big June 1 2011 super hail and EF3 day that I'll get around to posting as well.

[CT Rain]

Here's a write-up/case study I've been working on during downtime at work about the tornado.

Feel free to check it out/forward suggestions this way.

http://ryanhanrahan.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/tornadopaper1.pdf

[CoastalWx]

That's a good write up. I still can't believe that radar image...never forget it.

[CT Rain]

That's a good write up. I still can't believe that radar image...never forget it.

Isn't it nuts? It's hard to believe just how beautiful it was on radar and terrifying it must have been in person emerging from those ridge lines east of Springfield as a buzz saw through the forest.

[Damage In Tolland]

Here's a write-up/case study I've been working on during downtime at work about the tornado.

Feel free to check it out/forward suggestions this way.

http://ryanhanrahan....rnadopaper1.pdf

That 's some phenomenal work. It's scientific enough, but not to the point where the common person wouldn't understand it.

Are yu going to publish this? You should

[CT Rain]

That 's some phenomenal work. It's scientific enough, but not to the point where the common person wouldn't understand it.

Are yu going to publish this? You should

Not publishable... just something I did for fun. Wanted to keep it relatively easy to read as well.

[CoastalWx]

Isn't it nuts? It's hard to believe just how beautiful it was on radar and terrifying it must have been in person emerging from those ridge lines east of Springfield as a buzz saw through the forest.

I was on my way home..and talking to Phil. It was just when it crossed the CT river and he was like .."holy sh1t there is a tornado ripping through Springfield..." Then he was all fired up mentioning it was all over the webcams. I came home to see that debris ball ripping through sctrl MA.

My dental hygenist has a brother who's a state trooper living in Brimfield. He got the call that his neighborhood got hit. He came to a cardiac arrest call at his neighbor's house. Get this....how do you pull up to your street...look at your new house with the top half of the house gone...and try to save your neighbor's life at the same time. My God.

[Damage In Tolland]

Not publishable... just something I did for fun. Wanted to keep it relatively easy to read as well.

How come it's not publishable?

[CT Rain]

The one item I mentioned in there that didn't get a lot of play in these threads during/after the event was the interaction of the outflow boundary from storm #1 (over Northampton) and storm #2. I knew the importance of such interactions in significant tornadogenesis but wasn't aware at how much cases in the northeast of big tornadoes (Great Barrington, Mechanicville, etc) had very clear interactions right before tornadogenesis. Cool stuff.

[CoastalWx]

The one item I mentioned in there that didn't get a lot of play in these threads during/after the event was the interaction of the outflow boundary from storm #1 (over Northampton) and storm #2. I knew the importance of such interactions in significant tornadogenesis but wasn't aware at how much cases in the northeast of big tornadoes (Great Barrington, Mechanicville, etc) had very clear interactions right before tornadogenesis. Cool stuff.

Joplin MO last year.

[CT Rain]

Joplin MO last year.

Yup.

[ChrisM]

I was on my way home..and talking to Phil. It was just when it crossed the CT river and he was like .."holy sh1t there is a tornado ripping through Springfield..." Then he was all fired up mentioning it was all over the webcams. I came home to see that debris ball ripping through sctrl MA.

My dental hygenist has a brother who's a state trooper living in Brimfield. He got the call that his neighborhood got hit. He came to a cardiac arrest call at his neighbor's house. Get this....how do you pull up to your street...look at your new house with the top half of the house gone...and try to save your neighbor's life at the same time. My God.

That's nuts. I remember texting jay and trying to frantically post on here that i was seeing a tornado otg not knowing a lot of you guys were watching it on that camera. I'll never forget that day.

[ineedsnow]

I know i posted this before but being this close then flying to the 291 on ramp and watching it rip threw springfield was just unbelieveable a day ill never forget!

[radarman]

Here's a write-up/case study I've been working on during downtime at work about the tornado.

Feel free to check it out/forward suggestions this way.

http://ryanhanrahan....rnadopaper1.pdf

Nice job. Interesting theory about the outflow boundary as well...

One minor bone to pick is that I believe the Noho storm was actually supercell #2... before that another strong storm moving through the hilltowns to the NW showed a lot of promise and SRV. If it could've maintained separation from the quasi-linear stuff to the south I think it would've had a chance to go tornadic as it descended into the valley, but was pretty clearly destructively interfered with.

I've attached 2 screenshots of the partially embedded hook. The rigidity of the structure cycled over the course of about 5-10 minutes before merging with the line.

[CT Rain]

Nice job. Interesting theory about the outflow boundary as well...

One minor bone to pick is that I believe the Noho storm was actually supercell #2... before that another strong storm moving through the hilltowns to the NW showed a lot of promise and SRV. If it could've maintained separation from the quasi-linear stuff to the south I think it would've had a chance to go tornadic as it descended into the valley, but was pretty clearly destructively interfered with.

I've attached 2 screenshots of the partially embedded hook. The rigidity of the structure cycled over the course of about 5-10 minutes before merging with the line.

Thanks for sharing, yeah you're correct. For simplicity sake I called the two that descended into the valley 1 and 2 but you are right.

Do you have any theroies why the NoHo storm didn't go tornadic but the one in Springfield did? Seems to me the locally backed flow and the possible interaction with an outflow boundary was able to tip the scales.

[radarman]

Thanks for sharing, yeah you're correct. For simplicity sake I called the two that descended into the valley 1 and 2 but you are right.

Do you have any theroies why the NoHo storm didn't go tornadic but the one in Springfield did? Seems to me the locally backed flow and the possible interaction with an outflow boundary was able to tip the scales.

Unfortunately around the time that the couplet was appearing west of Noho a bowing segment of the line to the north had reached UMass. X band is prone to attenuation anyway, and when water is streaming down the radome in sheets it's especially bad. So I was really not able to do much radar analysis on that part of the storm...

Off the cuff theories though? Looking at archived wx station data on wunderground, the hills west of Noho, (Westhampton, Williamsburg, etc) the dewpoints were much lower than in the valley. Low 60s as opposed to Mid 70s. Wx stations in the southern regions of the berks though near Westfield (Chester, Montgomery, etc) all had dp's in the mid 70's. Perhaps the flow stayed more westerly further north, and there was less "fuel" (* <- Note I'm not a true met) available for Noho, and it didn't have enough angular momentum to go tornadic before it was interfered with?

Or that as you mention, it was the resultant outflow boundary from that storm, and also from the Belchertown funnel, that gave the juice to push the Springfield tornado over the top and maintain intensity?

Or just that the low-level jet was intensifying over time, and hadn't maxed out yet as it would later on?

That last one I think is most likely... Although cape was diminishing, the storms that did go tornadic all happened later on in the day. Even the last one at dusk that didn't produce looked menacing despite the fading thermodynamics.

[CoastalWx]

River valleys are also known to be theta-e sinks (deeper areas of rich moist air), so that makes sense too, Radarman.

[HoarfrostHubb]

River valleys are also known to be theta-e sinks (deeper areas of rich moist air), so that makes sense too, Radarman.

I was wondering if the topography mattered at all...

[CoastalWx]

I was wondering if the topography mattered at all...

There are definitely things in the northeast that factor in tornadogenesis...valleys are one of them. We're not talking a little 1 mile wide valley...I mean something like the CT valley..something large enough to alter to local storm environment.

[radarman]

I was wondering if the topography mattered at all...

In general I do believe the valley is more prone to tornadoes than the Berks, but it's important to consider that the tornado intensified as it moved east into hilly terrain. Similarly the Worcester tornado scoffed at the relief. On the rare occasions we find ourselves with severe parameters reminiscent of the plains, the topography may play a role (especially in initiation), but it's importance may diminish once we get rolling.