Great Barrington tornado
The Great Barrington tornado was a violent and deadly F4 tornado that occurred in the western Massachusetts town of Great Barrington on May 29, 1995. The tornado remains the last F4 tornado in New England, a streak of over 30 years. It is also one of the deadliest and costliest tornadoes in New England history, causing 3 deaths and $25 million worth of damage. Due to the unusual strength of the tornado for its location, as well as complex terrain interactions with the Appalachian Mountains, the tornado was the focal point of a 2006 paper researching tornadogenesis over complex terrain.
Meteorological synopsis
In the morning hours of May 29, 1995, a regionally strong, negatively tilted mid-level trough moved through the northeast United States, bringing 60-65 knot mid-level winds to area. The mid-level trough brought an associated surface low that had developed via lee cyclogenesis the previous day. Due to the surface low over Quebec, moisture surged north, bringing dew points into the mid 60s. Modest lapse rates resulted in CAPE values in excess of 1000 J/kg, sufficient for storm initiation given the complex terrain.Around 3:30 p.m. on May 29, 1995, scattered thunderstorms developed over the Western Catskill Mountains of New York. A few were supercellular, producing isolated wind and hail over the next few hours the storms moved east. Meanwhile, low-level winds were intensifying due to the surface low, producing widespread 40 knot winds at 850 mb. As a result, 0-3km storm-relative helicity values exceeded 150 over much of southern New England, with local values likely much higher. However, they failed to become surface-based, likely due to the absence of low-level instability. One thunderstorm however, suddenly became surface-based upon crossing the Hudson River Valley, likely due to the presence of greater instability associated with more moist air flowing up the valley from the south as well as locally enhanced wind shear due to numerous outflow boundaries
Tornado summary
The tornado touched down around 7:06 p.m. near Prospect Lake in North Egremont, west of Great Barrington. Moving ESE at 40 mph, the tornado crossed Massachusetts Route 41 and U.S. Route 7 just south of downtown Great Barrington. The Great Barrington Fairgrounds were heavily damaged, with winds estimated at 150 mph. Local WSBS newsman Tom Jay reported following the event “The fairgrounds are no more.” Although it was Memorial Day and many residents had the day off, the fairgrounds were vacant, and no injuries were reported. By this time the tornado had become rain-wrapped, obscuring the tornado and leaving the residents with little warning.The tornado damaged and destroyed scores of homes and buildings in the area before entering East Mountain State Forest, southeast of Great Barrington. A gas station was destroyed, and multiple other buildings were "flattened" around the fairgrounds. Timberlyn Heights, a nursing home with 120 residents was evacuated when its roof was blown off. A wooden beam was driven through the passenger side of a minivan, leaving a woman with a hip injury. Remarkably, a cartoon of eggs in the back seat of the car remained intact. Another vehicle was thrown into a supermarket, causing a large hole in the building.
After traversing the peaks of the forest, the tornado intensified on the lee side of the mountains. According to some sources, the tornado briefly lifted as it reached the apex of the mountain, before touching down again and rapidly intensifying. This rapid intensification was due to the terrain, as the lowered elevation past the peak caused the tornado to stretch vertically, narrowing the wind field and intensifying damage due to conservation of angular momentum. In the state forest, over 1,500 acres of forest were blown down, likely the peak intensity of the tornado. Ski Butternut, a small ski mountain in the forest sustained $2.5 million worth of damage to lifts, buildings, snowmaking equipment, as well as trees planted to form ski trails.
Near the town line with Monterey, a car was lifted off of Route 23, and tossed into a wooded area. Two students and two staff members at the private Eagleton School, a residential treatment center for boys ages 9–22 who have a variety of emotional and behavioral problems, were returning to the campus east of Great Barrington. School counselor Seung Choi, who was not seat belted, was thrown from the car and critically hurt. The other three occupants were seat belted and sustained fatal injuries, the first in tornado fatalities Massachusetts since 1979, as the car was thrown by winds estimated at 260 mph. Choi was found looking for the car alongside the highway by the school director, Bruce Bona. The tornado continued doing minor tree damage alongside and south of Route 23, causing the road to be blocked for more than 24 hours. At 7:24 p.m. the tornado lifted near Morley Hill, one and a half miles southwest of West Otis.
In total, more than 100 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed, causing $25 million worth of damage, including the grandstand at the Great Barrington Fairgrounds. Additionally, twenty-four people were injured. 5,000 people in the area were left without power due to the tornado and related storm. The tornado had a length of, a maximum width of and was on the ground for 18 minutes.
Aftermath
A chapel was constructed in the forest where the two students and their teacher passed away during the tornado. The chapel was built by students of the Eagleton School using the trees felled by the tornado, and was used by the school until its closure in 2016. Today, the chapel, named Memorial Chapel A.T. Great Barrington, serves as a rest stop for the nearby Appalachian Trail. In 2000, a plaque was erected by the Great Barrington Historical Society in the local Mahaiwe Cemetery to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of the storm.Ski Butternut, whose owner had cancelled the property insurance on the mountain to save money during the previous season, was rebuilt with the help of nearby ski areas and a $1.5 million loan from the Small Business Administration. The mountain was rebuilt in time to open for the 1995-1996 season. Coincidentally, Ski Butternut sustained similar damage and recovery to the nearby Mohawk Mountain Ski Area, which was struck by a tornado in 1989 and was rebuilt.