Description: It was a stifling Spring day on June 9th, 1953, when a merciless black funnel of wind touched down at 4:30 PM in Central Massachusetts and cut a swath of destruction 40 miles long from Barre to Southborough. It ripped out the heart of Worcester, Massachusetts. By the time it recoiled back into the sky at 6 PM, it was the most powerful and destructive tornado ever to strike New England, leaving 94 dead, 1,300 injured and 15,000 homeless. 4,000 buildings were damaged in Worcester alone by this F5 tornado that had peak winds with an estimated velocity of 327 MPH.

Join New England folklorist John Horrigan as he gives a moment-by-moment slide show and account of this twister the relatively unknown second twister that touched down an hour later. He'll also provide a chronology of other famous New England Tornadoes, including "John Winthrop's Sudden Gust" of July 5th, 1643; The Great Middlesex Tornado of August 22nd, 1851; The Fitchburg Cyclone of July 17th, 1924; The $60,000 Cyclone of August 16th, 1938; The Truck Stop Tornado of August 28th, 1973; The Bradley Airport Tornado of October 3rd, 1979 and the Rhode Island Triple Twisters of August 7th and 8th, 1986.

IMAGES

The track of the Great Worcester Tornado

The Tornado first touched down west of Worcester

And then the monster got loose...

Assumption College in Worcester was nearly destroyed

Boards became missiles

There was a second tornado that day in south central Massachusetts. The radar echos from Lexington, Mass. of the burgeoning storm at 4:55, 4:56 and 4:59 PM on June 9th, 1953

Conflagrations broke out in two different Worcester neighborhoods

The passing tornado cloud: "a beautiful killer"





THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN PERFORMED FOR:

Organization: Worcester Low Vision Group

Contact: Saras Reddy

Date: March 20, 2009

Location: Worcester Senior Center at Worcester, Massachusetts

Email: click to email

LISTEN TO THIS LECTURE

Running Time: 55 minutes Size: 50 MB





ADDITIONAL AUDIO RECORDINGS:


THE GREAT MIDDLESEX TORNADO OF 1851

Recorded on April 15th, 2008 at Waltham, Massachusetts. John reads about a tornado that raced through Middlesex County (along modern day Route 60) on August 22nd, 1851 (from David Ludlum's Early American Tornadoes). Time: 13:07 Size 12 MB


THE GREAT MIDDLESEX COUNTY TORNADO OF 1851

Recorded on April 15th, 2008 at Waltham, Massachusetts. John reads about a tornado that raced through Middlesex County (along modern day Route 60) on August 22nd, 1851 (from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England. Time: 20:35 Size 19 MB


EYEWITNESS TO THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD WATERSPOUT (1896)

Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads an eyewitness account of the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout in August of 1896. 1:46; 2 MB


IT RAINED SALT WATER (1896)

Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the salt water rain that fell on Martha's Vineyard after the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout of August 19th, 1896. 1:26; 2 MB


THE WATERSPOUT ON VINEYARD SOUND (1896)

Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the historic photographs taken from Cottage City, Martha's Vineyard of the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout of August 19th, 1896. :53; 1 MB


THE WATERSPOUT OF AUGUST 19th, 1896

Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the historic Martha's Vineyard Waterspouts of August 19th, 1896. Three were seen in succession. Time is 8:59; Size is 10 MB


THE HURRICANE OF 1782

Recorded on July 9th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England about a tornado that swept across western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire in June of 1782. Running Time is 3:19. Size is 6 MB.


THE HURRICANE OF LEICESTER (1759)

Recorded on December 10th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England about a tornado that wiped out Leicester, Massachusetts in 1759. 2 minute and 27 seconds; 3 MB


THE VIOLENT HURRICANE OF REHOBETH (1671)

Recorded on May 4th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a tornado that rakes a southern Massachusetts community in 1671.


JOHN WINTHROP'S SUDDEN GUST OF 1643

Recorded on May 4th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a "sudden gust" recorded by John Winthrop in his diary that moves on a northern line and scours land from Lynn, Massachusetts to Hampton, New Hampshire in 1643.


WINTHROP'S SUDDEN GUST

Recorded on December 27th, 2006 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a "severe line squall" recorded by John Winthrop in his diary on July 5th, 1643 (O.S.) that hit Newbury, Massachusetts. 2 minutes and :08 seconds, 2 MB








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