Massachusetts experienced the first tornado – or whirlwind, as they called it – ever recorded in what we now refer to as the continental United States.
Of course, there were likely many other tornados before then, but the European settlers armed with their quill pens and parchments hadn’t arrived to write about them.
It happened on July 15, 1643, and Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop wrote about it in great detail in his journal.
READ MORE: Massachusetts Had First-Ever Recorded U.S. Tornado
The first tornado outbreak, or swarm, on record impacted several New England states.
New England Storm Center reports, “On August 15, 1787, at least five tornados touched down across the region.” The site says, “Three tornados touched down in Connecticut, one touched down in Massachusetts (one of the Connecticut tornados also crossed into Massachusetts and one tore through New Hampshire.”
The Connecticut Courant and Weekly Intelligencer reported that the third tornado of the day was first spotted in Killingly, Connecticut. It moved northeast into Rhode Island to near Glocester. Orchards were destroyed there, and a house and barn were “torn to pieces”
That tornado continued northeast to Mendon, Massachusetts.
The day’s fourth tornado was first observed near Northboro, Massachusetts. Reports from the area indicated severe damage in Marlboro, Southboro and Framingham.
New England Storm Center says, “There were also a handful of other severe weather reports that were unlikely to have been tornadic in nature (such as straight-line wind and large hail damage).”
The site says, “There were many injuries, but only two deaths during this outbreak.” Both deaths occurred in the New Britain, Connecticut area.
KEEP READING: What to do after a tornado strikes
LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every stateStacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.
Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.
Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi
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Publish date : 2024-08-14 17:26:00
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