F4 Tornado — Berkshire, Massachusetts

1995-05-29 · near N. Egremont, Berkshire, Massachusetts

Event narrative

A tornado touched down near Prospect Lake in North Egremont at 1906 EST and moved in an easterly direction at about 40 mph, crossing into Great Barrington and then Monterey. The last damage occurred near Morley Hill in Sandisfield at 1924 EST. Officially, the track extended from one mile southeast of north Egremont to one and one-half miles southwest of West Otis. Three people were killed when the automobile they were in was lifted several hundred feet in the air and then dropped into a wooded hillside. Two of the dead were male students around 20 years old and the other was their male teacher, who was approximately in his late 50s. Twenty-four people were injured. National Weather Service investigation classified this storm as a "devastating" tornado. Property damage (according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency) included the following: two homes were destroyed, eleven homes had major damage, nineteen homes had medium damage, thirty-four homes had minor damage; one rental unit had major damage, three had medium damage, and four had minor damage. Many of the injuries were from flying glass. One motorist was very lucky when the tremendous force of the wind drove a large wooden timber through the door and front seat of his van and he escaped with his life and a hip injury. A nursing home lost its roof and buildings at the local fairgrounds were destroyed. A gas station was destroyed. A truck smashed into a supermarket causing a large hole in the building. Many roads were blocked for more than 24 hours by numerous fallen trees. Total damage was estimated at between $20 and $25 million, with many losses covered by insurance. Debris was carried more than 45 miles to the northeast to Belchertown in eastern Hampshire County, where a racing ticket from the fairgrounds was found along with white, corrugated plastic roofing material. Other debris was found in Huntington and Montgomery in western Hampden County, about 25 miles away. The last deaths caused by a tornado in Massachusetts occurred in 1979. (M20V, M20V, M58V)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 10329561. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.