Region – Weather that could include thunderstorms, strong wind gusts, hail and even the small possibilities of tornadoes are being forecast for this evening.
Here is an update from Weather Specialist James Arnold for what could be a wild start to the holiday weekend.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has updated their thinking for the northeastern part of the country. Their zone of a 5% chance of a tornado has been expanded into central Massachusetts. While this is still a small number (one chance in 20) it is not zero and is a bit larger than their previous assessment. The zone of wind reaching severe limits has also been expanded into our area. Here is a link to the SPC’s page with this information: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html
A tornado watch has been issued for western Massachusetts, eastward to the western edge of Worcester County at this time. Here is a link to the SPC’s page with this information: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0313.html
Finally, here is a link to SPC’s page on tornado safety which contains a lot of very good information: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#Safety
I will stay with this situation until it resolves itself and moves away, with additional updates as needed. As always, keep informed through NOAA weather radio broadcasts, Radio, TV and the internet.
