Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 32, NWS Boston/Norton, MA
NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 3, 1997, 11:23 PM EDT for Barnstable County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 52 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 3, 1997, 11:23 PM EDT (03:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 4, 1997, 12:15 AM EDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Boston/Norton, MA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Barnstable County, MA
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:27 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 11:25 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Sandwich, MA |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 25 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 774 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -16 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 556 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 180 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBOS 040324 RRA SVRBOS MAC001-040415- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 1123 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS ...SOUTHERN BARNSTABLE COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. RADAR AT 1120 PM INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR SANDWICH HEADING EAST FROM THE UPPER CAPE TO THE LOWER CAPE. WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...HAIL TO 1 INCH AND POWER OUTAGES CAN BE EXPECTED IN A FEW PLACES ALONG THE PATH OF THIS STORM AS IT HEADS FOR DENNIS AND BREWSTER. DRAG/FIELD IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A STRONG BUILDING. DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.4
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 3, 8:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
800 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM Heath MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0709 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
AEDLocal storm report, Jul 3, 8:04 PM EDT, 3 hours 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
800 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM Heath MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0709 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
& CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
AEDLocal storm report, Jul 3, 8:15 PM EDT, 3 hours 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
815 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM HEATH MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0709 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
0710 PM SWANSEY NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0713 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO RTE 12
CHESHIRE SOUTH OF KEENE...BUILDING
DESTROYED ON FAIR GROUND.
REPORTED BY PUBLIC
0715 PM MARLO NH TREES DOWN
CHESHIRE
0740 PM MARLBOROUGH NH BUILDING COLLAPSED,
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
AEDLocal storm report, Jul 3, 8:18 PM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
815 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM HEATH MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0709 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
0710 PM SWANSEY NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0713 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO RTE 12
CHESHIRE SOUTH OF KEENE...BUILDING
DESTROYED ON FAIR GROUND.
REPORTED BY PUBLIC
0715 PM MARLO NH TREES DOWN
R CHESHIRE
0740 PM MARLBOROUGH NH BUILDING COLLAPSED,
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
AEDLocal storm report, Jul 3, 8:55 PM EDT, 2 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
855 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM HEATH MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0703 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
(TIME OF EVENT CORRECTED)
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
0710 PM SWANSEY NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0713 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO RTE 12
CHESHIRE SOUTH OF KEENE...BUILDING
DESTROYED ON FAIR GROUND.
REPORTED BY PUBLIC
0715 PM MARLO NH TREES DOWN
CHESHIRE
0740 PM MARLBOROUGH NH BUILDING COLLAPSED,
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0743 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO ON GROUND
CHESHIRE WITH SEVERAL BUILDINGS
DESTROYED. REPORTED BY
SPOTTER.
0800 PM GREENFIELD NH TORNADO. TORNADO DAMAGED A
HILLSBOROUGH RECYCLING CENTER. REPORTED
BY SPOTTER.
AEDLocal storm report, Jul 3, 8:56 PM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
855 PM EDT THU JUl 3 1997
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM HEATH MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND PER FIRE DEPT.
0645 PM WALPOLE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES DOWN PER POLICE DEPT.
0650 PM HINSDALE NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE POSSIBLE TORNADO
0703 PM CHARLEMONT MA TORNADO. TORNADO
FRANKLIN ON GROUND ON RTE 2
PER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
(TIME OF EVENT CORRECTED)
0710 PM CHARLEMONT MA WIND DAMAGE
FRANKLIN WIRES DOWN
0710 PM ALSTEAD NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES AND WIRES DOWN
0710 PM SWANSEY NH WIND DAMAGE
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0713 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO RTE 12
CHESHIRE SOUTH OF KEENE...BUILDING
DESTROYED ON FAIR GROUND.
REPORTED BY PUBLIC
0715 PM MARLO NH TREES DOWN
CHESHIRE
0740 PM MARLBOROUGH NH BUILDING COLLAPSED,
CHESHIRE TREES UPROOTED
0743 PM KEENE NH TORNADO. TORNADO ON GROUND
CHESHIRE WITH SEVERAL BUILDINGS
DESTROYED. REPORTED BY
SPOTTER.
0800 PM GREENFIELD NH TORNADO. TORNADO DAMAGED A
HILLSBOROUGH RECYCLING CENTER. REPORTED
BY SPOTTER.
AEDThe office that day
Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 8:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | BOX | Franklin, Worcester | 63 min |
| Jul 3, 8:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Hampshire | 61 min |
| Jul 3, 8:49 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | BOX | Franklin | 3 hr |
| Jul 3, 9:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Middlesex | 68 min |
| Jul 3, 10:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Bristol, Plymouth | 69 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Massachusetts, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.