Alert archive / Massachusetts / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

July 3, 1997Franklin County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1997, 6:46 PM EDT for Franklin County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 59 min. 3 reports 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, 6:46 PM EDT (22:46 UTC)
Expired: Jul 3, 1997, 7:45 PM EDT
In force: 59 min
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area: Whole counties

County Franklin County, MA

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Jul 3, 6:58 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Charlemont, MA
Jul 3, 7:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Montague, MA
Jul 3, 7:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Shutesbury, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 3, 4:00 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 102 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 901 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 598 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBOS 032246 RRA
TORBOS
MAC011-032345-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
646 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST MASSACHUSETTS
 
   ...FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
AT 640 PM...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS INDICATED
A TORNADO IN HEATH. THIS STORM WILL EAST ACROSS NORTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY
AFFECTING COLRAIN...SHELBURNE...LEYDER AND GREEFIELD THROUGH
715 PM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
DRV/GF

The office that day

Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 3, 5:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Franklin	30 min
Jul 3, 6:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire	65 min
Jul 3, 6:17 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	BOX	Hampden	58 min
Jul 3, 6:48 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	BOX	Hampshire	57 min
Jul 3, 7:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Hampden, Hampshire	43 min
Jul 3, 7:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	BOX	Worcester	53 min
Jul 3, 7:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOX	Franklin, Hampshire	61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Massachusetts, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.