A Retrospective of the June 1953 Flint and Worcester Tornadoes

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A Retrospective of the June 1953 Flint and
Worcester Tornadoes

• How They Happened and
• What We Learned

Eleanor Vallier-Talbot NOAA/NWS Taunton, MA
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Flint and Worcester

• Set up for development of the tornadoes
• Synoptic and upper air features
• Massive damage that occurred
• Photos and reports
• Aftermath
• Changes and updates to technology and warning
  system
• Research conducted with data from these storms

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Monday, June 8, 1953 1200Z Surface Map
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Credit NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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Credit NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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Credit NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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If we had satellite and radar in 1953

• Using the 21Z Mt. Clemens (60 miles SE of Flint)
  sounding
• NWS Detroit developed idealized simulations
• Satellite
• http//www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/1953beecher/flash.php?
  image3D
• 2 KM radar
• http//www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/1953beecher/flash.php?
  imagerad2km

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Erie, MI Tornado and Waterspout -- 30 miles over
water
Credit Grazulis
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Beecher, MI June 9, 1953
Credits NOAA News and Flint Public Library
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Beecher and vicinity Damage
Credit Flint Public Library
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Credit NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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Michigan/Ohio Tornadoes

• Large F5 tornado passed through Flint and Beecher
  (Only F5 in SE lower Michigan)
• Killed 116 peoplelast tornado to kill over 100
  people in U.S. history
• 844 injured, occurred at 830 PM EST
• 27 miles long, over 800 yards wide
• Three F4 tornadoes in MI/OH
• Temperance/Erie Deshler/Cygnet Kings Mill
• Four F3 tornadoes in MI/OH
• 19M damage (1953) 127M damage (2002 dollars)

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Boston Globe June 9, 1953
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The June 9th Forecast
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Tuesday, June 9, 1953 1200Z Surface Map
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June 9, 1953 1200Z 500 mB chart
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Discussions at WBO Boston

• Knew history of this weather system and saw
  potential of damaging/tornadic development in
  Massachusetts
• Meteorologist Al Flahive and other staff met at
  10 AM to discuss mention of Tornado for their
  next forecast issuance
• Decided against it so not to be unnecessarily
  alarming
• Opted for first-ever severe thunderstorm forecast
  wording in New England issued at 1130 AM
• Windy, partly cloudy, hot and humid with
  thunderstorms, some locally severe, developing
  this afternoon (Credit Chittick)

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Tuesday, June 9, 1953 1830Z Surface map
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Hand drawn map from WB office in Worcester
Rotating wind damage and 3 inch diameter
hail reported in Colrain and baseball hail in
Northfield at about 345 PM EDT
around 3 PM
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Taken at 455 PM EDT Lexington, MA
MIT Radar
Hook Echo Signature (Holden, MA)
Credit BAMS
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Hail in Rutland Next to a light bulb
Credit Chittick
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457 PM
Credit Grazulis
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Twin Funnels Seen on Brattle Street, Worcester at
508 PM
Courtesy Chittick Photo by Howard
Smith Worcester Telegram Gazette
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Barograph Trace found in north
Worcester (Worcester/Holden) Bottomed out at
27.54 inches at 4 PM EST (5 PM ESDT) Lowest
recorded pressure in eastern U.S. (N. of Florida)
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Worcester Tornadonear Lake Quinsigamond,Shrewsb
ury522 PM
Mile 35 Viewed toward NNE Funnel about one mile
wide
Photo taken by the late Henry LaPrade
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Warning Issued!

• Phone call made after 5 PM from Blue Hill
  Observatory (Milton, MA) to WBO Boston
• Observer John Conover reported debris falling out
  of the sky
• Its coming from great heights, shingles, small
  branches, paperboards several feet long
• Im afraid theres been a bad tornado
  somewhere.
• Forecaster Drebert agreed, issued first ever
  tornado warning in New England!
• Caution advised on severe thunderstorms with
  isolated tornado activity in the Boston area
  between 6 and 8 PM this evening.
• Sent via teletype at 545 PM!! (Credit Chittick)

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Assumption College Before
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and After
Credit Chittick
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Uncantena Avenue, off Clark Street in the upper
Burncoat area
Credit Chittick
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Credit Chittick
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Sheet metal wrapped around debarked trees
Corner of Holden St. and Brentwood Dr., Holden,
MA
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Overshooting top from parent thunderstorm as it
moved away
Estimated tops over 70,000 feet! (B. Vonnegut
A. Bemis)
Credit Chittick
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F3 Tornado in Exeter at about 520 PM
Hand drawn tracks of three tornadoes
that affected New England on June 9, 1953
from the Worcester Weather Bureau office
F3 Tornado from Sutton to northern Mansfield
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Official Tracks of Massachusetts Tornadoes
June 9, 1953
Credit BAMS
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Worcesters Final Statistics

• F4 damage
• On ground 84 minutes and 46 miles, up to one mile
  wide
• 94 people killed, 1300 injured (4 in U.S.)
• 4000 buildings damaged or destroyed
• Debris found in the Boston area and on Cape Cod
• Frozen mattress found in Massachusetts Bay near
  Weymouth
• Books and clothing found at Blue Hill and on
  outer Cape Cod (Provincetown/Chatham/Eastham lt110
  miles awaygt)
• Reports of hail from Portland-Bangor-Eastport, ME
• 1/4 to 3/4 inch in squall line, no tornadoes
  reported
• 52.1M damage (1953 dollars) 1.14B (1997
  dollars ltadjusted for wealth inflationgt)

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Aftermath

• Recently formed Weather Bureau Severe Weather
  Unit (SWU) in mid 1952 (SPC history)
• Did well in forecasting the Iowa and Flint
  tornadoes, but caught by surprise by New
  England tornadoes on June 9, especially the
  severity of the Worcester storm
• Renamed Severe Local Storms Warning Center (SELS)
  on June 17, 1953
• Reorganized in part because of these storms as
  well as Waco, TX in May (114 dead)
• One forecaster and SELS supervisor requested
  transfer out of unit by end of 1953
• Moved to Kansas City from Washington in 1954
• Worcester Rating re-assessment
• Blue ribbon committee held in summer 2005 to
  possibly re-rate tornado to an F5
• Only storm other than Hurricane Andrew that this
  was done for

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Aftermath

• Eventual deployment of weather radar nationwide
• Research radar at MIT saw Worcester tornado, only
  the 4th tornado seen on radar at that time
• Warning system
• Noted that several warnings were received by
  various agencies in central Massachusetts, but
  never passed on to other communities
• Eventual development of warning system for
  emergency management and citizens
• Improvement of radio and television communications

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Research

• Cloud electrification of severe thunderstorms
• Paper in Atmospheric Research in 1999 in honor of
  Bernard Vonnegut (Williams, et al)
• Vonnegut researched severe storms, lightning and
  tornadic activity after his experience with
  Worcester tornado
• Vonnegut and Bemus noted from 600-1200 flashes
  per minute in the Worcester storm
• Only visual observation of stroke rate in
  nighttime tornadic supercell
• Lightning from the storm could be seen offshore
  until midnight June 10
• Debris fallout from tornadic thunderstorms
• Former Tornado Debris Project out of Oklahoma
  University
• Used Worcester reports in their historic research
  for BAMS article in 1995 (J. Snow, et al)

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Credits and References

• Significant Tornadoes 1680 1991 by Thomas P.
  Grazulis
• What Is So Rare as a Day in June Worcester
  Tornado June 9, 1953 (Multimedia presentation) by
  William Chittick
• Tornado! 84 Minutes, 94 Lives by John OToole
• The Squall Line and Massachusetts Tornadoes of
  June 9, 1953, Bulletin of the American
  Meteorological Society (BAMS), Vol. 36 No. 3,
  March 1955, pp. 109-122.
• NOAA Central Library Data Imaging Project U.S.
  Daily Weather Maps (online)

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Credits and References

• Plymouth State College WXP NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis
  Map Generator (online)
• Boston Globe
• Worcester Telegram and Gazette
• NWS Taunton archival data
• NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI website
• http//www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/1953beecher/
• NOAA News Online, May 5, 2003 article
• Flint, MI, Public Library
• http//www.flint.lib.mi.us/gallery/beechertornado/
  index.shtml

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