The Worcester Tornado
June 9, 1953
The Most Powerful New England Tornado

Since we are highlighting significant storms in a series of Skymails, the Worcester Tornado always comes to mind as the calendar changes to June.

A vigorous storm system moved from near Colorado on June 7th, 1953 to southeastern Canada on June 9th spawning a total of 46 tornadoes over three days from Colorado to New Hampshire. There were 245 deaths - 116 in the Flint Michigan storm on June 8th and 94 in the Worcester storm June 9th. There was a significant tornado cluster just west of Cleveland Ohio that killed 18 people on June 8th as well. This was the last time greater than 90 deaths occurred on consecutive days. The Flint, MI storm has been categorized as an F5 and the death toll was not surpassed until the 2011 Joplin MO storm.

The Worcester tornado touched down in Petersham near the eastern shore of the Quabbin Reservoir and may have had several funnels initially. The storm passed through Barre where 2 were killed, Rutland and Holden where 11 died, then widened to a F4 tornado as it tore through Worcester proper leveling several subdivisions. From there it moved across Lake Quinsigmond and into Shrewsbury, through downtown Westboro before turning northeast and hitting the Post Office in Fayville in Southboro where 3 people were killed as the Post Office collapsed. A total of 94 people lost their lives, many in the Burncoat section of Worcester where homes were swept clean to their foundations. Assumption College's main building, a substantial brick structure with a 5 story tower was heavily damaged attesting to the severity of the storm.
The US Weather Bureau Map 1:30PM June 9,1953
Central Massachusetts in the warm moist air with the cold front west
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Assumption College Worcester, MA
Severe damage to the solid three story brick building - note two stories of 5 story tower knocked down - lower right convent where 2 nuns and a priest were killed.
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Rite Canney's photograph of
the Worcester Tornado
in Rutland.
Stan Smith's photograph
of the storm in Holden, MA


This photograph was taken by Howard Smith, staff photographer for the Worcester Telgram and Gazette, from the eastern shore of Indian Lake facing north as the storm widened and was hitting the northwest section of Worcester bearing down on Brattle Street
This photograph was taken by Henry LaPrade as the storm crossed Lake Quinsigamond into Shrewsbury
This photograph was taken by Robert Resch near the intersection of Rte 9 and 20 in Shrewsbury as the storm passed that town

Here is the radar screen of one of the earliest weather radars then located at MIT - it shows the hook echo of the storm. The first hook echo ever recognized was on April 9, 1953 by Mr Donald Staggs on the radar at the Illinois State Water Survey
As the Worcester storm was dissipating three additional funnels caused damage - the first from Millbury to Mendon, the second Bellingham to Franklin in Massachusetts and one in Exeter NH - all caused damage but no deaths, however, 18 people were injured in Wrentham
There were several interesting aspects to this event - the US Weather Bureau at Logan Airport made a forecast for thunderstorms, some severe, and thus was the first time a severe thunderstorm warning had ever been issued. Al Flahive the lead forecaster for the day, was concerned about a tornado but its was the policy of the Weather Bureau at the time not to mention tornadoes in a forecast. The Weather Bureau did not know there had been a tornado until Dr. Charles Franklin Brooks called from Blue Hill Observatory to report debris including shingles falling from the sky - a sure sign there had been a tornado to the west. As the squall line passed to the east in the evening the observers at Blue Hill Observatory could count 300 flashes of lightening per minute. Some of the debris including several wood shingles remains as part of the Blue Hill collection .(Photographs from Stormstalker via internet)

Earlier in 1953, the Waco tornado spurred the establishment of a severe forecast center which received more support after this outbreak and that center evolved into the Storm Prediction Center in later years. Later in the 1950's Dr. David Atlas carried out ground breaking weather radar research with one of the first dedicated weather radar units at Blue Hill Observatory.
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Charles Orloff, Executive Director corloff@bluehill.org
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