Worcester Survivor of '53 Tornado Recalls Devastation A film on the Worcester Tornado, June 9, 1953. While the powerful F5 twister did only minor damage to the Baylor University campus, it left . This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Furthermore, the tornados meteorological explanation was due after the event; many wondered how such a storm was possible in the New England region. However, the Worcester tornado's greatest effect on the nation was its being the principal catalyst for the Storm Prediction Center's reorganization on June 17, 1953, and subsequent implementation of a nationwide radar/storm spotter system. Someone found a wedding dress in Worcester hanging from a telephone wire in Natick. York County, Is it my imagination, or is that JFK in the picture shown regarding the tornado? The most devastating tornado ever to occur in the Northeast was the Worcester Tornado of June 9, 1953. [10][6] 1953 was the first year that tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were used, so forecasters compromised and issued the first severe thunderstorm watch in the history of Massachusetts. Search above to list available cemeteries. 1953 FlintWorcester tornado outbreak sequence, FlintWorcester tornado outbreak sequence, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://archive.org/details/tornadoinworcest00wallrich, A Look Back: The Worcester Tornado of 1953, June 7-9, 1953 The Flint Worcester Outbreak, "A Look Back: The Worcester Tornado of 1953", "The Science Behind the Flint-Beecher Tornado: Map Features", Template:Attached KML/1953 Worcester tornado, Video of before the tornado, and damage following it, Video of the tornado in the Southborough area, Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts, "Tri-State" (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana), St. Louis, Missouri/East St. Louis, Illinois, Storm Prediction Center: The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes, SPC Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1953_Worcester_tornado&oldid=1141443562, History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 1953 natural disasters in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013, Articles needing additional references from June 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Today, experts are aware that the city is part of New England's severe weather corridor. Or it tossed around cars and mangled the people inside. [6] More than 30 tornadoes occurred that day across Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, including a violent tornado that killed 11 people near Arcadia, Nebraska. Maine, Damage was phenomenal in Worcester (second-largest city in Massachusetts) and in some areas equaled the worst damage in any U.S. based on information from your browser. [6] By afternoon, temperatures in Worcester had reached 80F (27C), with a dew point of 66F (19C); in combination with cold air aloft, this meant that atmospheric conditions were very unstable and conducive to severe weather. Everywhere I went there were cries of "please help me." The main building's 3-foot (0.91m)-thick brick walls were reduced by three floors, and the landmark tower lost three stories. Congressman James E. Van Zandt (Representative of Pennsylvania) was among several members of Congress who expressed their belief that a June 4 bomb-testing created the tornadoes. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. kdkb has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. 1953 Worcester Massachusetts Rescuers Try To Help Victim Of Tornado Press Photo You are offerding on an original press photo of Worcester Massachusetts Rescuers Try To Help Victim Of Tornado. John O'Toole told the Boston Globe that he believes the choice is "inappropriate because it was a disaster. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. william schafer. (NECN: Katleyn Tivnan) - This Sunday. The injured sons recovered after three months in the hospital, and doctors worked without pay to save them and other storm victims, he said. Assumption College was a prep school located where QCC is now in 1953. The tornado lasted 84 minutes, mowing a path about 45 miles long from Petersham to Southborough. 1953 was the first year that tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were used, so forecasters made a deal and issued the first severe thunderstorm watch in the history of Massachusetts. I have about 8-10 photos of the 1953 tornado that hit Worcester. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Vermont, There is a problem with your email/password. 60 years later, tornado's scars linger. He said the Worcester people were so nice to them. Timeline: For 70 Minutes, 2011 Tornado Carved Path Of - CBS News This was just at the entrance to the vast housing area. Instead, they suddenly heard a sound like an approaching freight train, a roar that drowned out last-minute cries to take shelter. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia. In total, 94 people were killed, making it the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the United States,[2] and the deadliest in the history of New England. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Support GBH. On Monday, June 8, 1953 an exceptionally violent tornado struck the north side of Flint, Michigan and the northern suburb of Beecher, causing catastrophic damage and hundreds of casualties. This weather system would continue eastward spawning another tornado that would become the deadliest New England twister on record. As soon as the winds abated, residents began to organize themselves into rescue teams. The memorials in this virtual cemetery are to honor those who died as a result of the tornado that swept through the towns of Petersham, Barre, Rutland, Holden, Worcester, West Boylston, Shrewsbury, and Westborough on Tuesday June 9, 1953. . [4] Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Tornado! [] Here are some facts and figures from the Worcester tornado according to an article from the New England Historical Society. They told of []. The Curtis Apartments blueprints were blown all the way to Duxbury (near Plymouth), 75 miles (121km) away. In the storm's final moments, three people perished in the collapse of the Fayville Post Office in Southborough. killing people at each one. When survivors emerged from the wreckage, they viewed destruction so complete that many thought it was either a nuclear explosion or the apocalypse. At 4:25 p.m. it touched down in Petersham near the Quabbin Reservoir and continued to move to Barrie and Rutland, killing two people. Flint / Worcester Outbreak Sequence | Raven - Fandom Massachusetts, in the 50's. The devastated city of Worcester needed rebuilding and housing for those 10,000 people who lost their places of residence. People in the path of the tornado ran for their basements; if their houses had no basement, they crouched behind stairwells, in interior bathrooms or closets, or turned over sofas and crawled underneath them. The tornadoes are linked together in the public mind because, for a brief period following the Worcester tornado, it was debated in Congress whether recent atomic bomb testing in the upper atmosphere had caused the tornadoes. A priest and two nuns were killed at Assumption College(nowQuinsigamond Community College). [13] Coincidentally, around the time it ended at 5:45 P.M., a tornado warning was issued, although by then it was too late. There is a problem with your email/password. I recall quite well the June 1953 Worcester tornado, the horrendous damage and the deaths of about 100 people. If you are a relative of one of these individuals please contact me and I will be honored to transfer the memorial to you. This was also when the tornadoes were established as some of the worst in American history. The resources of the Red Cross were depleted, as 1953 was considered one of the worst tornado periods in history. Seven other tornadoes in the Upper Midwest that day killed nine more people and injured 52 more. She died on August 2, 2006 in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands. Please try again later. There was a problem getting your location. People were hunkered down in their basements and once it got over and they looked up, theyd see the sky. It included two tornadoes that caused at least 90 deaths eachan F5 tornado occurring in Flint, Michigan, on June 8 and an F4 tornado in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 9. 1953 worcester tornado victimsjack paar cause of death. By 4:30 p.m., there were ballgames going on, shops closing up, factory workers heading home. Remembering the Tornado of 1953 | Westborough, MA Patch Tornadoes In Massachusetts? Rare, But Not Impossible Then it killed nine more people in Holden, where it wiped out the Brentwood subdivision and all but 12 of the 75 homes in White Oaks. Police cruisers were pleading over loudspeaker systems with everybody not to smoke. Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Boston believed that there was a possibility for tornadic activity in the area, but chose not to broadcast it in their forecast for the day in fear that they would cause panic among local citizens. 1953 Worcester Tornado Victims The memorials in this virtual cemetery are to honor those who died as a result of the tornado that swept through the towns of Petersham, Barre, Rutland, Holden, Worcester, West Boylston, Shrewsbury, and Westborough on Tuesday June 9, 1953. Thanks for your help! . Photos of the worst tornado damage courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection, except for the photo of Robert Stoddard and John Kennedy by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Tornado in Worcester; an exploratory study of individual and community behavior in an extreme situation. Worcester tornado crownbaker 11 subscribers 34K views 13 years ago Kathy Lundstrom's father, Henry Ekberg took this rare color film before and after the Worcester tornado tore up the Burncoat. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. This browser does not support getting your location. [14] The nearby Burncoat Hill neighborhood saw heavy devastation (especially on its western slope), but it was the Uncatena-Great Brook Valley neighborhoods to the east of Burncoat Hill that were utterly leveled, with the tornado possibly reaching F5 intensity in this area. 1953 tornado killed 94 people and thousands more buildings were damaged or destroyed, including campus chapel at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. Fifty years later one survivor recalled, "We thought the world was coming to an end. The Tornado first touched down west of Worcester And then the monster got loose. Thousands of people became homeless after the storms, resulting in martial law being declared for Worcester. I remember this..was in my yard and saw clouds coming with debris flying in the air and this was in Dorchester, mass.