The National Weather Service confirmed Monday that four weak EF1 tornadoes touched down in Central and Eastern Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, including one in Paxton, just west of Worcester, and a second just minutes later about five miles away in Holden.
Also, two brief tornadoes were confirmed in Stow and Berlin, north of Marlborough.
A survey team from the weather service was dispatched to the Worcester and Springfield areas on Monday to assess whether any tornadoes had touched down during Saturday’s intense thunderstorms. Radar had picked up strong tornado activity, specifically in Holden, as the severe weather tracked through New England, according to the weather service.
“In most cases, a radar-indicated tornado” is usually a good tip-off that a tornado was there, Andrew Loconto, lead meteorologist at the NWS office in Norton, said Monday.
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EF1 tornadoes have estimated sustained winds of 86 to 110 miles per hour, although the weather service said the intensity of the twisters in Paxton and Holden was “on the lower end of that range.” An EF1 tornado is the second-lowest rating for twisters, according to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which ranks them based on intensity.
The survey team also examined tree and structural damage in the towns of Otis and Blandford, west of Springfield, but “did not see any evidence of a tornado in those locations,” the weather service said. Extensive storm damage in Berlin, northwest of Marlborough, was also being investigated Monday to determine if a tornado touched down there. NWS said it should have a finding on that area later on Monday.
A line of strong thunderstorms marched through New England Saturday afternoon and evening, with five tornado warnings issued across portions of Massachusetts and Connecticut. “It was a pretty solid line of thunderstorms,” Loconto said.
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@kenmahantheweatherman Tornado in Massachusetts on Saturday! A last surge of severe summer weather brought damaging storms to New England with at least one confirmed twister. #mawx #boston #tornado @The Boston Globe
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The last tornadoes to strike New England were also two EF1 twisters that touched down in Rehoboth and Lincoln, R.I., on June 26, 2024. Just three days earlier, a weak EF1 tornado occurred in Dublin, N.H.
With these latest storms over the weekend, the surge of heat and moisture ahead of a deep, cold air mass behind a cold front had set the stage for unstable weather and severe storms that produced damaging wind gusts, hail, and the potential for tornadoes. Wind speeds aloft were strong and changed direction, which helps trigger possible tornadoes.
Wind gusts of 60 miles an hour and higher were reported in several towns, including Bedford and Granby, with some hailstones exceeding an inch in diameter, the size of a quarter.
The velocity radar image below shows the bright green and tight area near Holden, a tell-tale sign of rotation. Velocity shows the strength and direction of wind to and from the radar site, and the bottom right shows the shape and sizes of particles in the atmosphere, like raindrops. But when you see a steep change in color, like the lime green and blue, that means the radar is picking up a very different size and shape in the atmosphere, and objects like tree branches, roofs, and shingles, have been lifted into the air — another sign that a tornado is present.
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Marianne Mizera can be reached at marianne.mizera@globe.com. Follow her @MareMizera. Ken Mahan can be reached at ken.mahan@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.