EF2 Tornado — Suffolk, Massachusetts

2014-07-28 · near Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Event narrative

The tornado touched down in Chelsea, where a window was blown out on Dudley Street. However, the overwhelming majority of damage occurred in Revere. Most of the damage was rated EF-1, but EF-2 rated damage did occur near Revere Beach Parkway.

From Chelsea, the tornado moved across the Chelsea River, directly across the Paul Cronin Memorial Skating Rink. Portions of the rink's roof were blown northeastward across Route 16. Numerous houses on Revere Beach Parkway were damaged, with one roof blown completely off. In that same area, large oak trees were snapped in half. Numerous trees were downed, some of which were lifted up and then deposited on top of houses immediately behind Revere Beach Parkway.

The damage was widespread throughout much of the center of Revere. The tornado traveled northward, following Route 107 or Broadway for the most part. Windows were blown out of town hall and the roof was damaged. A large birch tree was uprooted near town hall. Sixty-four structures sustained damage that ranged from siding torn off to roofs lifted or blown off. Thirteen of these structures (6 - 1 & 2 family homes, 3 - multifamily homes, and 4 commercial buildings) were deemed uninhabitable by building inspectors. Several store signs were destroyed. Debris from homes collected on fences. Trees fell on cars, a few of these crushed.

Revere High School also sustained damage, mainly to the exterior. Side panels, fencing, sidewalks, and air handlers on the roof were damaged.

Police reported a car that had been overturned at the intersection of Revere Street and Carleton Avenue. Finally, near the rotary at Route 60 and Broadway, a billboard was blown onto several cars.

City officials estimated that city owned buildings alone sustained at least 1.5 to 2 million dollars of damage.

While no major injuries were reported, several minor injuries occurred. An 86 year old woman suffered from a head laceration which she sustained from flying debris while standing outside a Dunkin Donuts. A two week old baby girl strapped in the back seat of a truck was injured when a board flew through the rear windshield of the vehicle. The board missed the infant but covered her in broken glass.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low developed in the eastern Great Lakes, providing enough lift and energy for showers and thunderstorms to develop across southern New England. With plenty of moisture, shear and instability in the region, some of these storms became severe, producing strong to damaging winds and flash flooding. This began with a round of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, which mainly resulted in flash flooding. This was followed with more shower and thunderstorm activity during the afternoon with damaging winds the main effect.

One of the severe thunderstorms in the morning interacted with the marine front along the coast, allowing it to spin up into a rather brief tornado. Despite the short path and duration of the tornado, the location in which it touched down, metro Boston, allowed it to do considerable damage before lifting. Several injuries occurred, mainly from flying debris. This was the first tornado to hit Suffolk County since 1950, when modern record keeping began.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.3980, -71.0219)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 535097. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.