a satellite view of tornado s path. track can seen brown streak across center of image; part of track, including springfield, obscured clouds.
on june 1, 2011, strong, large, , long-lived tornado left swath of devastation through hampden county worcester county in western massachusetts. tornado proved unusually persistent, remaining on ground 1 hour , ten minutes along path 39 mi (63 km) long, second longest on record in massachusetts. damage path reached width of 0.5 miles (0.80 km). city of springfield devastated june 1, 2011 tornado, southern portion of springfield metropolitan area – westfield charlton. massachusetts has experienced 8 ef3 or higher tornadoes since reliable records began kept in 1950, , first on record in hampden county. overall, tornado killed 3 people, injured 200 others, , left hundreds homeless. in springfield alone, approximately 500 buildings destroyed. hundreds of other homes destroyed in surrounding towns, including west springfield (88 structures) , monson (77 structures), among others. damage estimates storm, date, exceed $140 million, majority of destruction of homes , businesses. based on post-storm survey national weather service office in boston, tornado attained maximum estimated winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) moved springfield, ranking high-end ef3.
around 4:13 p.m., strong thunderstorm developed on western hampden county , gradually developed tracked eastward @ 35 mph (56 km/h). storm prompted severe thunderstorm warning portions of hampden, hampshire, , worcester counties in massachusetts hartford, tolland , windham counties in connecticut. @ time, doppler weather radar indicated weak rotation within storm, sign of possible tornado , around 4:17 p.m., tornado touched down in munger hill section of westfield, massachusetts. previous severe thunderstorm warning superseded tornado warning @ 4:18 p.m. following stronger rotation apparent on radar. within westfield, damage confined trees local school did sustain roof damage. once tornado moved out of city of westfield , city of west springfield, rapidly intensified, causing extensive damage industrial buildings, removing roofs , upper floors of three-story apartment complexes. additionally, few homes collapsed due severity of structural damage. throughout west springfield, 88 buildings destroyed , 2 people killed. 1 woman killed after home collapsed on top of while protecting daughter. fatality took place when 5 ft (1.5 m) wide oak tree fell on vehicle, killing driver.
homes suffering varying degrees of damage
the storm crossed connecticut river , moved metro center, urban area of densely populated city of springfield, destroying on 500 homes , buildings. tornado caused extensive damage springfield s connecticut river walk park, deforesting of park s formerly lush tree canopy , removing large sections of wrought-iron fences. 200-year-old heritage trees in court square uprooted , commercial brick buildings in springfield s historic south end sustained extensive damage – large portions of roofs removed , numerous, ornate brick facades destroyed. severe structural damage apartments , townhouses took place near famous mulberry street , due east on campus of springfield college. in wealthy east forest park neighborhood, numerous houses destroyed, , cathedral high school sustained sufficient damage demolished. debris cathedral high school found 43 mi (69 km) east, discovered in millbury. springfield s sixteen acres neighborhood, middle-class neighborhood – springfield s suburban in character – devastated.
continuing eastward, tornado tracked through wilbraham, causing near-total deforestation , extensive structural damage. storm moved through center of monson, damaging every structure in area. many homes badly damaged, of flattened. total of 77 buildings destroyed, completely. in locations, trees debarked , had of branches removed. unanchored homes in town slid foundations , collapsed. roof of old monson high school, town s police building, destroyed. in natick, 60 mi (97 km) monson, picture town found.
tree damage @ sturbridge
shortly before 5:00 p.m., tornado moved through brimfield state forest reached maximum width of 0.5 mi (0.80 km). thousands of trees snapped , uprooted in area. near brimfield, village green campground, trailer park, destroyed 95 out of 96 trailers destroyed. here, 1 person killed after rv overturned tornado. several homes swept foundation in brimfield area well. losses in area exceeded $1 million. around 5:09 p.m., tornado warning issued include portions of norfolk county, massachusetts , providence county, rhode island. tornado struck sturbridge area, thousands of trees downed , multiple homes damaged. significant damage took place both buildings , trees several miles before storm moved southbridge. there, southbridge airport sustained damage , aircraft picked , thrown nearby woods. once through airport, tornado ripped through rosemeade apartments , devastated neighborhood of brookside road, charlton street , harrington road @ 5:18pm before dissipated in southwestern charlton @ 5:27 p.m.
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