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- New Summary Updates!
New Summary Updates!
The Shot: A Buzzer-Beater That Saved Lives!
We are back! Took last week off because of the Memorial Day holiday and now back at it with some updates and plenty of tornado history!
We have been looking at some of the older summaries on the website and enhancing them looking for more stories, details, photos and more! Zach and I have released our updates and they are FREE!
Springfield, MA EF3 Tornado – June 1, 2011: This was the first killer tornado in Massachusetts since 1995. The twister had a path of approximately 38 miles, the second longest on record in the state, behind the June 9, 1953 Worcester F4. From Westfield to Springfield, Monson to Brimfield, over 1400 homes received some degree of damage. Three lives were lost, two in West Springfield and one in Brimfield. This narrative aims to honor their memory and highlight the communities struck by this significant tornado on June 1, 2011.
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Tornado as it moved through Springfield, MA. By Matt Putzel - [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
Franklin-Brentwood, TN F4 Tornado – December 24, 1988: On the morning of Christmas Eve 1988, an isolated severe weather event unfolded in the Nashville suburbs of Franklin and Brentwood, TN. A fatal and violent tornado tore a 6-mile path through populated neighborhoods in the pre-dawn hours, killing one and injuring at least seven people. In less than ten minutes, the F4 caused millions of dollars in damage but left many families grateful for survival during the Christmas holiday. This twister was the only one recorded that day.
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Image from newspapers.com.
The “Very Special Episodes Podcast” on iHeart just released a new episode called “The Shot: A Buzzer-Beater That Saved Lives!” - It tells the story of the tornado that struck Atlanta, GA on March 14, 2008. I was honored to be asked to be a contributor to the story! Check it out here!
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NEW “This Week In Tornado History” is online now! An estimated F4 tornado (part of a family of twisters) on June 8, 1995 moved 3 miles hitting parts of Pampa, TX. 17 homes and 30 businesses were destroyed. We have a summary about this event too!
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🌪️ This Week In Tornado History
June 3, 1980 - Pennsylvania: An F3 tornado hit near Natrona Heights, Vandergrift and Apollo in Pennsylvania. A trailer park was demolished at Apollo with half of the 177 mobile homes wiped away. Seven homes were destroyed in Vandergrift. Thomas Grazulis denotes near-F4 damage to one home.
June 4, 1958 - Colfax, WI: Five tornadoes occurred on this day in Northwest Wisconsin. One was rated F2, one rated F3, two F4s and one F5 which moved east from 4 miles SW of Woodville to 1 miles South of Knapp. It then moved along the north edge of Menomonie. The tornado made a turn to the ENE and crossed through the south and east parts of Colfax. 21 people were killed along the 33.7 mile path.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/b44cc730-9365-470d-8cd8-ef8d0d7f64aa/colfax.jpg?t=1717372909)
Image from newspapers.com.
June 5, 2005 - Luther, TX: During the evening of June 5, 2005, a massive, discrete supercell meandered along a boundary across the arid plains of west-central Texas. For more than five hours, it crawled generally south and west. With a forward speed of just 5 mph, it spent this time over almost total wilderness in Borden and Howard Counties. The storm spat out six tornadoes, one of which is the focus of this summary.
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June 6, 1917 - Missouri: An estimated F4 tornado moved 42 miles through portions of Cooper, Boone and Audrain Counties in Missouri. Twenty were killed along the path and at least 68 injured.
June 7, 1984 - Barneveld, WI: This F5 moved from south of Ridgeway through Barneveld, to Black Earth and Lodi. Approximately 90% of Barneveld was destroyed. Nine people were killed and 200 injured.
June 8, 1966 - Topeka, KS: Click the link to listen to the archived podcast about this F5! About 820 homes were destroyed in Topeka with entire neighborhoods leveled. 16 people were killed, over 400 injured. It passed right over Burnetts Mound, which legend had said protected Topeka from tornadoes.
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Image from NWS Topeka.
June 9, 1990 - Idaho: An F2 tornado briefly formed and hit two cattle feeding sheds in Jerome County, ID. The sheds were 180 feet long and 10 feet wide, with concrete walls and laminated timbers.
Check This Out!
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