Tornado and Waterspouts in Massachusetts, August 20, 1997

Showers developed during the afternoon in southeastern Massachusetts and these went on to produce three waterspouts, at least one confirmed weak tornado (F0) and numerous funnel clouds.. The weak tornado occurred in the Pine Hills section of the town of Plymouth, near Cliff Rock, where a police officer saw tree-top debris being carried upward into the funnel. The touchdown time was 1:27 PM and was reported to have lasted between 15 and 55 seconds. The first waterspout occurred just east of the Sagamore Bridge, over Cape Cod Bay, at 1:30 PM. At 2:15 PM, a second waterspout was sighted one mile east of Gurnet Light to the east of Plymouth. A third waterspout was reported just west of Bourne, over Buzzards Bay, at 3:20 PM. Throughout the afternoon, there were numerous reports of funnel clouds, some of which appeared in newspaper photos and documented via amateur radio operators' videos. Many of the funnels came as far a half-way down before retreating up into the cloud. While it is possible that there were other very brief touchdowns of very thin funnels, none were able to be confirmed. The waterspouts made for dramatic video footage which aired on area television newscasts and on The Weather Channel. Cloud tops associated with the convection that produced these phenomena were in the low range...from 10,000 to 20,000 feet, except for a few isolated clouds which grew slightly higher. There were no reports of damage or injury as a result of these events.