Alert archive / Massachusetts / Tornado Warnings in 2015
Tornado Warning 9, NWS Boston/Norton, MA
NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 2015, 2:28 PM EDT for Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 32 min. 11 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 4, 2015, 2:28 PM EDT (18:28 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 2015, 3:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Boston/Norton, MA
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
County Middlesex County, MA
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2:34 PM EDT | HAIL 1 | Acton, MA | |
| Aug 4, 2:35 PM EDT | HAIL 2 | Littleton, MA | |
| Aug 4, 2:37 PM EDT | HAIL 1 | Westford, MA | |
| Aug 4, 2:40 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | TREE DOWN DAHLIA DRIVE |
| Aug 4, 2:40 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | TREE DOWN ON DAHLIA DRIVE |
| Aug 4, 2:42 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | WIRES DOWN GRAY ROAD |
| Aug 4, 2:42 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | WIRES DOWN ON GRAY ROAD |
| Aug 4, 2:46 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN ON FOSTER STREET AND NAGOG HILL ROAD |
| Aug 4, 2:46 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN ON FOSTER STREET AND NAGOG ROAD |
| Aug 4, 2:46 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | Littleton, MA | TREES DOWN ON MANNION PLACE...LARGE TREE DOWN ON ADAMS STREET |
| Aug 4, 3:03 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | West Acton, MA | TREE DOWN...LARGE LIMBS DOWN...TREE ON CAR ON NEAR ROUTE 111. SHINGLES BLOWN OFF SIDE OF ROOF. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 12:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 8 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 150 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
- 1622 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 628 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 4.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
867
WFUS51 KBOX 041828
TORBOX
MAC017-041900-
/O.NEW.KBOX.TO.W.0009.150804T1828Z-150804T1900Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
228 PM EDT TUE AUG 4 2015
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NORTH CENTRAL MIDDLESEX COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS...
* UNTIL 300 PM EDT
* AT 228 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
OVER LITTLETON...OR NEAR CHELMSFORD...AND WAS MOVING EAST AT 35
MPH.
* SOME LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
LOWELL...BILLERICA...CHELMSFORD...TEWKSBURY...BURLINGTON...
WESTFORD...ACTON...CONCORD...BEDFORD...LITTLETON...AYER...
BOXBOROUGH AND CARLISLE.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! DO NOT WAIT TO SEE THE TORNADO. GO TO A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING...AWAY FROM
WINDOWS. IF IN A VEHICLE...A MOBILE HOME OR OUTDOORS...GET TO THE
CLOSEST SHELTER. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.
&&
LAT...LON 4250 7122 4247 7151 4256 7155 4265 7130
TIME...MOT...LOC 1828Z 256DEG 36KT 4253 7147
$$
KJCThe office that day
Everything else NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 4:11 AM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Franklin, Hampshire | 64 min |
| Aug 4, 6:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth | 66 min |
| Aug 4, 6:13 AM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 62 min | |
| Aug 4, 6:53 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Barnstable, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth | 52 min |
| Aug 4, 6:54 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Bristol, Plymouth | 51 min |
| Aug 4, 6:55 AM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 65 min | |
| Aug 4, 7:01 AM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 89 min | |
| Aug 4, 7:15 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Barnstable | 60 min |
| Aug 4, 7:48 AM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Essex | 42 min |
| Aug 4, 7:54 AM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 66 min | |
| Aug 4, 8:06 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Essex | 24 min |
| Aug 4, 8:15 AM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 60 min | |
| Aug 4, 12:32 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Franklin | 43 min |
| Aug 4, 12:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Franklin, Hampshire, Worcester | 64 min |
| Aug 4, 1:21 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Hampshire | 54 min |
| Aug 4, 1:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Franklin, Hampshire | 47 min |
| Aug 4, 1:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Middlesex, Worcester | 40 min |
| Aug 4, 1:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Franklin, Hampshire | 63 min |
| Aug 4, 2:05 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Hampden, Hampshire | 40 min |
| Aug 4, 2:07 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | BOX | Middlesex, Worcester | 23 min |
| Aug 4, 2:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Hampden, Hampshire, Worcester | 58 min |
| Aug 4, 2:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Franklin, Hampshire, Worcester | 65 min |
| Aug 4, 2:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | BOX | Franklin, Worcester | 46 min |
| Aug 4, 2:47 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 58 min | |
| Aug 4, 2:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Essex, Middlesex | 41 min |
| Aug 4, 3:00 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Essex | 45 min |
| Aug 4, 3:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Middlesex, Worcester | 48 min |
| Aug 4, 3:40 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 95 min | |
| Aug 4, 3:46 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 59 min | |
| Aug 4, 3:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOX | Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester | 55 min |
| Aug 4, 4:07 PM EDT | Areal Flood Warning | BOX | Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk | 113 min |
| Aug 4, 4:11 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 64 min | |
| Aug 4, 4:23 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Plymouth | 37 min |
| Aug 4, 5:08 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | BOX | 52 min | |
| Aug 4, 5:18 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Worcester | 42 min |
| Aug 4, 5:45 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Hampshire | 45 min |
| Aug 4, 6:17 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Norfolk, Suffolk | 43 min |
| Aug 4, 7:30 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | BOX | Suffolk | 45 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Massachusetts, 2015Every tornado warning in 2015Tornadoes in 2015
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.