June 1st
2011-06-01 22:25:44.000 – Mike Carmon, Staff Meteorologist
Berlin under seige
June certainly managed to start with bang.
It appeared in advance, even as early as a few days ago, that today’s conditions would be prime for lots of convective activity–violent showers, and thunderstorms dropping hail, producing high winds, and even a few scant whispers of a tornado leaving the lips of local meteorologists.
The day did not disappoint.
On my ride over from Burlington, VT this morning, I noticed that the 5 a.m. sky was exhibiting activity much more indicative of 5 p.m. As it turns out, intense thunderstorms were rapidly firing and charging eastward, chasing me as I navigated the roads of northern New England. By the time I arrived at the base of the Auto Road, the sky was black, the rumbles of thunder were effortlessly drowning out my amped up car tunes, and rain and hail were being spit from the bottoms of the clouds.
It was time for shift change.
The first round of storms cleared out by the time our shift started up the Auto Road, allowing shift change to continue without incident. However, with a formidable cold front looming to the west, it was only a matter of time before the next round of convection charged through. The aforementioned whispers became as loud as trumpets during the afternoon, as a tornado watch was issued for most of New England.
A wild weather afternoon it was.
A tornado warning was issued for Berlin, NH–a mere 15 miles north (as the crow flies) of the summit of Mt. Washington. The National Weather Service believes a tornado touched down just west of Berlin in Jefferson, NH. In addition, the foreboding thunderstorm produced widespread hail across the entire area.
But points further south bared the brunt of the brutal force.
Tornado warnings were rampant across the state of Massachusetts. A killer storm charged through Springfield, MA (located about 90 miles west of Boston), dropping at least two tornadoes, and showering surrounding locations with hail upwards of 2 inches in diameter.
The birth of Summer 2011 was certainly a fierce and impassioned one.
Mike Carmon, Staff Meteorologist
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