Thunderstorm Wind — Berkshire, Massachusetts

2020-10-07 · near Great Barrington Arp, Berkshire, Massachusetts

Event narrative

A tree fell on a man on a golf cart at the Wyantenuck Country Club golf course resulting in a fatality. Time was estimated by radar.

Wider weather episode

A high-end severe weather event unfolded across the Northeast on Wednesday October 7, 2020. A line of thunderstorms originated across New York state and moved eastward into New England during the afternoon hours, producing widespread damage. Over a dozen reports occurred across Berkshire County. Both the Harriman-and-West and Pittsfield Municipal airports measured a wind gust of 60 mph as the line moved through. One man was killed when a tree fell onto him on a golf cart at the Wyantenuck Country Club. This event was classified as a serial derecho based on the 320 mile long damage swath and distribution of significant wind gusts (75 mph and above). The fact that trees across the region were fully leafed exacerbated the resulting wind damage and produced widespread power outages. There were over 2,500 power outages across western Massachusetts.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.1699, -73.3798)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 923338. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.