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Date: 8/10/2020
HILLTOWNS – Severe storms brought with them a tornado that made its way through portions of Western Massachusetts on the evening of Aug. 2, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed.
Speaking with Reminder Publishing on Aug. 3 a representative of the National Weather ServiceÕs Boston office in Norton said he could confirm a tornado was on the ground in Sandisfield and reported by the Sandisfield Police Department.
Later that evening, the NWS released its preliminary findings from a survey of the area, stating "a weak, narrow, but relatively long tornado" made its way through portions of Sandisfield, Tolland and Blandford. The tornado was classified an EF-0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures these weather occurrences based on wind speeds. The tornado maximum wind speeds of 80 miles per hour and at its peak was 100 yards wide while traveling 7.8 miles. There were no injuries or fatalities.
According to the NWS Albany office's preliminary storm report, there were multiple sightings of a tornado on South Main Street in Sandisfield reported by a trained spotter at 6:59 p.m. The Albany office reported this information as Berkshire County, which includes Sandisfield, falls under their purview.
The NWS's preliminary local storm report indicated multiple incidents of damage in Tolland reported via amateur radio between 7:05 and 7:15 p.m., including a snapped power pole with trees and wires down on East Otis Road, numerous trees down and across the road on Schoolhouse Road, and multiple trees down on Belden Road. Those reports were verified by the survey, which stated after beginning in Sandisfield, the tornado made its way into Tolland. The NWS utilized drone footage provided by an amateur radio operator to observe trees blown down in various directions from East Otis Road to the west shore of Twinning Pond as well as tree damage on Belden Road and "a narrow portion" of Schoolhouse Road.
The Tolland Police Department posted photos of tree damage on its Facebook page with a caption, "Tornado 2020 in Tolland," but did not return a request for comment.
Blandford Town Administrator Joshua Garcia said the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency sent an advisory on Aug. 3 confirming a tornado touched down in Sandisfield and Blandford, however, the impact on the town was minimal.
"Outside of one downed wire, we had no reported damage to infrastructure and no reported injuries," he said. "Our firefighters were active and went around checking on folks and didnÕt report anything outside of the downed wire."
He added, "Blandford has a vast landscape; it very well could have been in the forest and it would be very hard for us to know about it."
The survey confirmed damage became "sporadic" before the tornado lifted in Blandford at 7:20 p.m..
The wire in question was located on Beech Hill Road near the Granville town line and temporarily shut down the roadway. The Granville Fire Department assisted the Blandford Fire Department in closing down the roadway, which was opened roughly an hour later.
In addition, NWS surveyors noted a tree was felled in the vicinity of the Blandford Highway Department on Otis Stage Road.