06-01-2011, 08:20 PM
happening now in western part of state. at least 4 dead at this time.
Gov. Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency tonight and is calling in the National Guard to help residents dig out after tornadoes hit Westfield, Springfield and reportedly in three more communities leaving a trail of devastation.
Patrick said tonight 19 communities have suffered some kind of destruction and there is one fatality, still unconfirmed, from a car that was flipped over by a tornado in West Springfield. The governor also said 1,000 Guard troops have been deployed.
"We’ll be responding as communities need," he said.
It all began around 4 p.m. when a tornado ripped through Westfield then Springfield knocking down trees and tearing off roofs as two storm systems that could produce more twisters moves east, officials and eyewitnesses report.
The tornado that tore through West Springfield this week will be classified as an EF-3 or higher — the third highest ranking that’s powerful enough to topple trains.
The National Weather Service has not completed its storm survey, but this information gives a sense of just how powerful the storm was.
Tornadoes are measured on the enhanced Fujita tornado damage scale and giving a ranking between 0 and 5. An EF-3 tornado has winds of 136 to 165 miles per hour — enough power to overturn trains, uproot nearly entire forests and cause “severe damage,” according to the agency’s Web site. Meteorologist Matthew Belk said this is a preliminary estimate for the hardest hit areas and not the storm’s entire path of destruction.
![[Image: nu1_20110602_081430.jpg]](http://www.foxnews.com/images/root_images/nu1_20110602_081430.jpg)
Gov. Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency tonight and is calling in the National Guard to help residents dig out after tornadoes hit Westfield, Springfield and reportedly in three more communities leaving a trail of devastation.
Patrick said tonight 19 communities have suffered some kind of destruction and there is one fatality, still unconfirmed, from a car that was flipped over by a tornado in West Springfield. The governor also said 1,000 Guard troops have been deployed.
"We’ll be responding as communities need," he said.
It all began around 4 p.m. when a tornado ripped through Westfield then Springfield knocking down trees and tearing off roofs as two storm systems that could produce more twisters moves east, officials and eyewitnesses report.
The tornado that tore through West Springfield this week will be classified as an EF-3 or higher — the third highest ranking that’s powerful enough to topple trains.
The National Weather Service has not completed its storm survey, but this information gives a sense of just how powerful the storm was.
Tornadoes are measured on the enhanced Fujita tornado damage scale and giving a ranking between 0 and 5. An EF-3 tornado has winds of 136 to 165 miles per hour — enough power to overturn trains, uproot nearly entire forests and cause “severe damage,” according to the agency’s Web site. Meteorologist Matthew Belk said this is a preliminary estimate for the hardest hit areas and not the storm’s entire path of destruction.