Tornadoes · United States · Massachusetts · 2023

EF0 tornado, North Attleboro, Massachusetts, September 13, 2023

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Bristol County on September 13, 2023, touching down at 5:22 PM EDT and reaching 70 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
September 13, 2023
Touchdown
5:22 PM EDT (21:22 UTC)
Lifted
5:25 PM EDT (21:25 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
70 yards (64 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
County
Bristol County
Touchdown point
41.979, -71.358
Lift-off point
41.980, -71.357
Record number
2309131522-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A frontal system brought a period of heavy rain, flash flooding, and embedded thunderstorms to southern New England from the morning to mid evening. In addition to much tree damage from straight line winds, there was one tornado in Connecticut, 2 in Rhode Island, and 1 in Massachusetts. These all occurred in the afternoon.

An EF-0 with maximum winds of 75 mph briefly touched down in a|rural area of North Attleborough on Ellis Road which caused tree|damage south of High Street. The tree damage was limited to the|tops of three trees having been twisted off and lofted into nearby|pasture. After speaking with the homeowners they described seeing|the sheets of rain change direction before seeking shelter in|their basement. The tree damage along the path was consistent with|wind speeds between 65 and 75 mph, resulting an EF-0 rating on |the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

10 minutes of warning. NWS BOX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:12 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:00 UTC02:48 UTCFlood WatchBOX
16:14 UTC17:59 UTCFlash Flood WarningBOX
20:41 UTC21:15 UTCTornado WarningBOX
21:12 UTC21:45 UTCTornado WarningBOX
21:55 UTC22:30 UTCTornado WarningBOX

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), 12:00Z

9.4 hours before the tornado, 176 km from the path. September 13, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2023-09-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 488 joules per kilogram, CIN -16, lifted condensation level 876 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2023-09-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 150 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
488 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
876 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), 00:00Z

2.6 hours after it, 176 km from the path. September 14, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2023-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 309 joules per kilogram, CIN -37, lifted condensation level 918 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2023-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -12 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 29 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
309 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1274 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
918 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Pawtucket (Awos) (SFZ), 13 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
19:25 UTC140° 5 kt1013.2
19:30 UTC150° 5 kt1013.2
19:35 UTC170° 4 kt1013.2
19:40 UTC150° 5 kt1013.2
19:44 UTC71.668 4 kt1013.2
19:45 UTC140° 4 kt1013.2
19:50 UTC150° 5 kt1013.2
19:55 UTC170° 4 kt1013.2
19:56 UTC7267 3 kt1013.2
20:00 UTC170° 4 kt1013.2
20:05 UTC170° 4 kt1013.2
20:10 UTC160° 7 kt1013.2
20:15 UTC130° 4 kt1012.9
20:20 UTC140° 5 kt1012.9
20:25 UTC130° 5 kt1012.9
20:30 UTC130° 5 kt1013.2
20:35 UTC130° 5 kt1013.2
20:40 UTC0° 0 kt1013.2
20:45 UTC90° 7 kt1012.9
20:50 UTC70° 7 kt1012.9
20:55 UTC 211011.9
20:56 UTC7169160° 11 kt211012.2
21:00 UTC 1012.5
21:03 UTC71.668240° 15 kt211012.9+RA BR
21:05 UTC 1013.2+RA BR
21:07 UTC69.868270° 8 kt211013.2+RA BR
21:10 UTC250° 5 kt1013.5-RA BR
21:13 UTC69.868 3 kt211013.2-RA BR
21:15 UTC160° 5 kt1013.2-RA BR
21:20 UTC90° 2 kt1013.2-RA
21:25 UTC120° 4 kt1012.9
21:30 UTC120° 5 kt1012.9
21:35 UTC 1013.2
21:40 UTC340° 8 kt1013.2+RA BR
21:45 UTC66.266.2260° 5 kt1013.5-RA BR
21:45 UTC260° 5 kt1013.5-RA BR
21:50 UTC270° 9 kt1013.9-RA
21:52 UTC66.266.2280° 8 kt141013.9VCTS -RA
21:55 UTC290° 10 kt1013.9-RA
21:56 UTC6767290° 9 kt141013.9VCTS -RA
22:00 UTC300° 7 kt1013.9-RA
22:02 UTC66.266.2310° 8 kt1013.9-RA
22:05 UTC300° 7 kt1013.9-RA
22:10 UTC300° 4 kt1013.9-RA
22:13 UTC66.266.2290° 3 kt1013.9-RA
22:15 UTC300° 4 kt1013.9-RA
22:20 UTC300° 5 kt1013.9-RA
22:25 UTC230° 4 kt1014.2RA
22:30 UTC290° 8 kt1013.9+RA BR
22:35 UTC310° 5 kt1013.5+RA BR
22:40 UTC230° 2 kt1013.9-RA
22:45 UTC160° 2 kt1013.9RA BR
22:50 UTC170° 2 kt1013.9RA BR
22:55 UTC160° 2 kt1013.9+RA BR
22:56 UTC6565 3 kt1013.9+RA BR
23:00 UTC220° 2 kt1013.9+RA BR
23:01 UTC64.464.4220° 3 kt1013.9+RA BR
23:05 UTC160° 2 kt1013.9+RA BR
23:10 UTC150° 2 kt1013.9+RA BR
23:13 UTC64.464.4150° 3 kt1013.9RA BR
23:15 UTC0° 0 kt1013.9RA BR
23:20 UTC130° 2 kt1013.9-RA BR
23:21 UTC64.464.4130° 3 kt1013.9-RA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGNorth AttleboroBristol, MA6 inch wide tree split down the middle/knocked over in North Attleborough.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in MassachusettsEvery tornado in Massachusetts since 1950Warnings in force in Massachusetts nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of September 13, 2023

3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 134:00 PM EDTEF1Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT1.670$6,000
September 134:20 PM EDTEF1Providence, RI0.270$20,000
September 135:05 PM EDTEF1Providence, RI0.260$15,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.