2 tornadoes touch down in morning in Mass., NWS confirms

Oct 06, 2023

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Two confirmed tornadoes touched down in parts of Massachusetts on Tuesday, meteorologists from the National Weather Service said.

The NWS said the EF-1 tornado touched down at 11:20 a.m. in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, and was on the ground for three minutes for less than a mile. The tornado packed maximum sustained winds of 95 mph and was about 300 yards wide.

About 30 minutes later, an EF-0 tornado with estimated winds of 80 mph touched down in the Cape Cod town of Barnstable, near Evergreen Drive, the village of Marstons Mills. The twister touched down at 11:52 a.m. and was on the ground for approximately four minutes.

Meteorologists said the damage was concentrated near the center of the track near the intersection of Race Lane and Osterville-West Barnstable Road.

"The primary damage indicators were an uprooted hardwood tree and a downed electrical pole, supplemented by strewn debris inclusive of smaller trees, fence posts and branches," the report from NWS Boston meteorologists read.

"Witnesses described a chaotic event, observing airborne fence posts and branches," the report said.

Info: Interactive Radar | Hour-by-Hour Futurecast | Weather Alerts

In Mattapoisett, trees, utility poles and debris were snapped and tossed across Eldorado Drive and North Street neighborhoods.

"Well, I saw trees flying sideways, you know? Branches, you know, going sideways," said Marcia DuPont. "It was like super, super windy."

A tree fell on a chicken coop, splitting it in half. None of the animals were hurt.

Video: Residents describe moments tornado ripped through neighborhood

Across the street, a tree came within inches of hitting Dan Roellke's house.

"Came upstairs, and I looked out my side window in my mudroom right there, and the tree fell right in front of my face. And if it was literally six inches to the right, it would've came right into my house," he said.

A giant pine fell and crushed the truck of a town crew out, clearing debris and another pickup.

"I thought it just touched my truck, and it hit the actual dump truck, and it just took out both of us," the pickup driver said. "The adrenaline just, it hits you so quick, and you just think, ‘All right, are the guys OK?’ Because they were outside. So, I was like, ‘Are they OK?’ The powerlines came down. Is anybody going to get hurt? Anybody get electrocuted? And thank God, nothing happened."

A flood warning was issued until further notice for the Shawsheen River at Andover, in Essex County, which includes Wilmington and Andover.

Video: EF-1 tornado topples trees onto trucks on roadway

The heavy rains left roadways flooded and motorists stranded across the region.

Earlier, the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Metrowest and then additional warnings for parts of Barnstable County and Cape Cod after severe thunderstorms capable of producing a tornado were detected.

Video: Torrential rain, tornado warning Tuesday across MetroWest

Video: StormTeam 5 on how new weather technology detect tornadoes