Cool footage - Springfield, MA Tornado

[JShaffer]

Anyone else see this tower cam footage from today?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxzTyqKQnpw

I'm not sure I've ever seen close-up footage of a tornado interacting with a river like this. Amazing stuff.

 

[Jason Harris]

That was quite remarkable footage. Thanks for the sharing of the link.

 

[hazelmaryjackson]

Incredible. HOw was it taken? I gather they have few if any sirens in Massachusetts. Did the locals get any warning?

 

[rdale]

That's a towercam. And they did get warning, as you can see this is a TV station doing live continuous coverage. Plus it was on radio, NOAA Weather Radio, cellphones, EAS alert systems, you name it...

PS I can't wait to see some cellphone video from cars on the bridge. Did any get out and jump in the water for safety?

 

[Scott Nelson]

Lots of damage not only in Springfield but Monson, Brimfield and Southbridge. Storms seemed to train over the same location behind the front. Just a unique severe weather day here in MA and our hearts go out to those killed (4 as of 6/2) and injured (200).

 

[Jeff Hawkins]

I've been to Springfield several times and knew a few people that to my knowledge still live about 10 miles south of downtown, so I'm presuming they're ok.
Watching the inflow on the river into the vortex reminds me of the old Fujita films where the simulator created a similar effect on the water. I couldn't find the exact clip but found this clip that shows some similar footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdFPZxbDDlc

 

[Kirk Chestnut]

Visions of my worst nightmare. Sitting ducks in a traffic jam.

 

[Steve LaBelle]

That was pretty incredible. It was literally draining the river's water with that updraft. Thanks for that link.

 

[Marpav]

That's a towercam. And they did get warning, as you can see this is a TV station doing live continuous coverage. Plus it was on radio, NOAA Weather Radio, cellphones, EAS alert systems, you name it...

Yes! They were warned. NECN had continuous and detailed coverage from the beginning. The other stations weren't as good, with their on air people being rather vague with assorted bits of misinformation about getting under overpasses and with commercial cutaways.

However, some of us weren't expecting warnings. I knew the day had potential. I read assorted weather sites daily. But we had had a band of severe thunderstorms move through the eastern part of the state early that morning. That sweep did not bring in the expected cool air. it actually became even hotter and muggier as the day progressed. Still, as weather interested as I was, I went on to other daily things not thinking to keep up with the weather until a family member stuck her head into my study with the question, "are you following this? Matt Noyes is jumping around telling people to take cover in their basements..." At which point I started fumbling for the remote to see what was going on.

I live about as far away from where the storms hit that it is possible to be and still be in the Commonwealth but the news was out there early. Some of it may not have been very good coverage but it was there. Strangely enough, the EAS broadcast warnings cut across the TV several times even as far Northeast as Essex County where there never was more than a watch. Now those false alarms were a really questionable broadcast for our small out of the way area but I don't know how extensive the monopolistic cable system is. Some fine tuning of that might be recommended.

 

[Mike Smith]

However, some of us weren't expecting warnings...

I live about as far away from where the storms hit that it is possible to be and still be in the Commonwealth but the news was out there early. Some of it may not have been very good coverage but it was there. Strangely enough, the EAS broadcast warnings cut across the TV several times even as far Northeast as Essex County where there never was more than a watch. Now those false alarms were a really questionable broadcast for our small out of the way area but I don't know how extensive the monopolistic cable system is. Some fine tuning of that might be recommended.

Not sure why you wouldn't have expected warnings. Here is a timeline: http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-do-we-track-massachusetts-tornado.html

Yes, there is growing anecdotal evidence (just did two more survivor interviews yesterday and today) that overwarning is unwittingly "training" people to ignore the sirens and other warnings.

Part of this is the warning system hardware (countywide sirens or older TV systems that cannot handle polygons) has not kept up with meteorological progress. Some if it is "emergency managers" sounding sirens over vast geographic areas because "tornadoes can change direction at any time" and it is "better to be safe than sorry." http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Coul...-sirens-do-more-harm-than-good-122759099.html

 

[John Farley]

Part of this is the warning system hardware (countywide sirens or older TV systems that cannot handle polygons) has not kept up with meteorological progress. Some if it is "emergency managers" sounding sirens over vast geographic areas because "tornadoes can change direction at any time" and it is "better to be safe than sorry." http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Coul...-sirens-do-more-harm-than-good-122759099.html

This is very true, and I think it is part of the FAR as it is actually experienced by people. Multiple times on chases this year, I have been in areas that not only are not in the warning polygon, but are also in places where the threat has passed, and the sirens are blaring because somewhere east or northeast of them in the same county has been warned. On May 25 in AR, it was almost comical, were it not contributing to potentially deadly complacency - the storm had passed to the northeast of the little town I was driving through with the sirens blaring, and numerous people were out in their yards looking at the mostly clear sky to the southwest, while the storm was to their northeast and racing away from them. The sirens were blaring because of a new warning that no longer included their location, but did include a different part of their county. Saw something similar in MO a couple weeks ago. This really needs to stop! To the extent that it is a technology problem, the technology needs to be updated. To the extent that it is due to over-caution in the siren policy, the policy needs to change - sirens should only be blown for places that are in a tornado warning polygon, with rare exceptions IMHO. Possible exceptions would be extreme high wind (e.g. 90+ mph) or large hail (baseball or bigger) - in other words life-threatening situations - and again in the case of these, only in the warning polygon. Blowing the sirens outside the warning polygon or for marginally severe storms is counter productive because it adds to the FAR as experienced by people and adds to complacency, and should not be done. The FAR is already quite high, and excessive use of sirens only makes that problem worse as it is actually experienced by people.

 

[M. Drabowski]

Great footage. Reminds me video of wedge waterspout(?) from Craiglieth Ontario
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDnUdElzGys

 

[Kem Poyner]

I think that is the best video I have seen ever from a scientific standpoint. The high view and the fact the water was much calmer and shallower than an ocean with a waterspout. The circulation stayed in the center of the inlet so the view of inflow is equal all the way around. You can see every little inflow jet going into the tornado and how they interact with other inflows...and all the way around! usually a tornado like that would be full of dirt and debris obstructing the view on the otherside. It was the perfect senerio for a video that blows away simulated lab smoke and vacuum stuff.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I just heard a blurb about the event on TWC. The narrator (not a scientist) mentioned something like, "Springfield had a 10 minute lead time for the tornado, so it is a miracle more people weren't killed." Am I missing something here? How does a 10 minute lead time on a tornado equate to a mandatory fatality rate of X people? Just another example of journalism providing mis-leading opinions when it comes to tornadoes striking population centers.

 

[soundfisher]

I was tracking (to the confusion of my boss) the weather from sun up. Anticipating an interesting day, I was surprised by how poorly the local meterologists had this day pegged; with only a slight mention of a "possibility of severe storms." Looking at the Hodo's and environmental dynamics, it looked like things were going to get interesting. At 12:45pm, a tornado watch was released. And then by 2:30-3:00pm, towers started popping in Eastern, NY. One cell in W. Vermont briefly displayed a funnel, but the real action was the train of storms that kept moving west to east just south of the VT storm in western, MA.

No, there wasn't much lead time by the time the 1st tornado dropped in Westfield (just outside of Springfield). The cell that caused the damage (and what you see in the footage) was the same cell that ripped apart Monson (my good friend lost his house - which looked to be EF4 type damage - thankfully he and his family are safe with only a few bumps and bruises). Interestingly, a second tornado dropped down an hour and a half later 5 miles from the spot the 1st dropped in Westfield. I don't think the second storm was on the ground for a long time (we'll learn more from the survey), but these storms literally followed the same path; which is interesting as I expected the following storms to get choked off by cooler temps. <<< That didn't happen.

I would say, having lived in the mid-west and New England, I think folks here take warnings more seriously as those in the mid-west because we simply don't receive many warnings each year. So when it happens, everyone is talking about it and keeping their eyes to the skies. Unfortunately, this is a double-edged sword as most folks here don't have emergency plans in place in cases such as this. It was a bad day on June 1, but it could have been much, much worse.

Lastly, here is a link to all of the videos collected by the local newspaper. Some decent footage...and of course, some idiocy.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/videos_of_the_tornadoes_that_d.html

SF