Tornado warnings were issued for parts of Massachusetts on Thursday and later canceled, with radar indicating rotation but no tornadoes confirmed. A severe thunderstorm warning remained in effect into the evening, while tornado watches covered Massachusetts, N
Thursday afternoon brought a familiar kind of tension to Massachusetts: the sky looked capable of turning ugly fast, and officials acted as the storms moved across the state.
A tornado warning was issued for parts of Worcester, Middlesex, Hampshire and Hampden counties shortly before 5:30 p.m. It was canceled at about 6 p.m. The reason was radar-indicated rotation, but no tornadoes have been confirmed.
The threat wasn’t fully gone. A severe thunderstorm warning was also in effect for parts of Worcester, Norfolk and Middlesex counties until 7:00 p.m.
Earlier in the day, the state had been under a broader tornado watch. In Massachusetts, the watch included Essex, Middlesex, Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties until 7 p.m. There was also a tornado watch for New Hampshire and southern Maine until 7 p.m.
Boston’s forecast carried the warning signs even as the numbers stayed comparatively low. The Storms Prediction Center placed areas north and west of Boston and I-95 under a “2% tornado risk” on Thursday. Farther west and north. a larger “5% tornado risk” zone extended across the map from southwestern New Hampshire through Vermont and the Berkshires. The meaning was stark but simple: within the green or brown zones. there is either a 2% or 5% chance of a tornado forming within a 25-mile radius at any given point.
The low percentage didn’t erase the real concern. There was a decent amount of vertical wind shear Thursday, meaning that if storms were able to form, they could quickly reach severe levels and perhaps even rotate.
The period of greatest risk in central and eastern Massachusetts would be from about 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and mostly north and west of Boston—especially across New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Alongside the small tornado risk, the same setup left room for damaging straight-line winds, lightning and torrential downpours.
The message through the afternoon stayed consistent: updates were set to continue as the storms played out Thursday afternoon and evening.
Massachusetts tornado warning severe thunderstorm warning tornado watch Worcester County Middlesex County Hampden County Hampshire County Boston storm risk vertical wind shear