Windsor Locks, Connecticut Tornado
Encyclopedia
The Windsor Locks, Connecticut tornado struck the towns of Windsor
, Windsor Locks
, and Suffield, Connecticut
on October 3, 1979. The short-lived but intense tornado
struck without warning and caused three deaths and 500 injuries.
The storm, rated F4 on the Fujita scale
, also caused more than $400 million in property damage along an 11.3 miles (18.2 km) path, and ranks as the eighth most destructive tornado in American history.
and New Jersey
that morning. This was an unusual setup for a significant tornado, associated with a warm front
near a low-pressure center. A thunderstorm cell formed south of Long Island
around 10:20 am, and became a supercell
sometime later after interacting with a surface low-pressure center. It turned north as a left-moving supercell, meaning it moved left with respect to the mean atmospheric flow. Left-moving supercells are very rare, as cyclonic storms usually turn to the right of the mean flow. It is unknown whether this leftward movement was due to an atmospheric interaction or terrain-induced movement, as the storm moved straight up the Connecticut River
valley.
No tornado watch
es or warnings
were issued before the storm struck. This was later determined to be because of missing atmospheric sounding
data, as well as an incorrect assessment of the height of the tropopause
, which led to an underestimation of the strength of the thunderstorm which produced the tornado. Although a severe thunderstorm warning
was issued at 2:57 pm, very few people received the warnings in time.
The tornado touched down in Poquonock, Connecticut, a village in the town of Windsor, just north of Hartford
. Poquonock Elementary School was heavily damaged; fortunately, students were sent home early at 1:30 pm on Wednesdays. Students at a Brownie meeting were led into a hallway just before the auditorium they had been in was destroyed. The tornado traveled almost due north, an unusual direction for a tornado. The most severe damage occurred along River Road, Hollow Brook Road, Pioneer Drive and Settler Circle, where large frame houses
were left "in splinters". The tornado roughly followed Connecticut Route 75 just east of Bradley International Airport
. The airport's weather station recorded a wind gust of 39 m/s (87.2 mph; 140.4 km/h) as the tornado passed nearby. A United Airlines
flight with 114 passengers was attempting to land as the tornado was passing the airport; the pilot saw the tornado and was able to abort the landing
just in time. The tornado then crossed the northern portion of the airport, where the New England Air Museum
was located. More than 20 vintage aircraft were completely destroyed, with many more damaged. The museum's hangar was also rendered unusable. The tornado moved north a bit further before dissipating in the town of Suffield, Connecticut
, just south of the Massachusetts
state line.
The tornado was accompanied by more than 7 centimetres (2.8 in) of rain, and several instances of downburst
winds. Damage from downburst winds was reported across the Connecticut River in Enfield
.
and direct traffic, and the area was declared a disaster area
by President Carter
. FEMA trailer
s were provided within a few days, and were used by many residents until reconstruction or repairs could be completed. In all, at least 38 businesses were damaged or destroyed, 65 homes were completely destroyed, and at least 75 homes were damaged. Twenty-five tobacco sheds were "extensively damaged". At the airport, at least 30 vintage aircraft were damaged or destroyed, as well as most of the state's National Guard helicopters. The final damage total reached $200 million (1979 USD
), or $442 million in 1997 dollars.
Because of the vast scope of the damage, initially Windsor town officials feared many, possibly even hundreds, of people could have been killed. While there were many serious injuries, only three people were killed by the storm. Two victims,construction workers, working in a bank parking, lot took shelter in a work truck when they saw the storm approach, the first victim was killed immediately by a piece of flying lumber, the other died a few weeks later from his injuries becoming the 3rd victim. The second victim was found the next day across the street from her obliterated house. . Over 400 people were hospitalized, mostly for injuries from flying glass or the victims' having been thrown by winds.
, and the eighth-costliest in US history. The three people who were killed made it the deadliest tornado in Connecticut since the 1878 Wallingford tornado.
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....
, Windsor Locks
Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Windsor Locks is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 12,043. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region. It is also the site of the New England Air Museum...
, and Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; and in 1910, 3,841. As of the...
on October 3, 1979. The short-lived but intense tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
struck without warning and caused three deaths and 500 injuries.
The storm, rated F4 on the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
, also caused more than $400 million in property damage along an 11.3 miles (18.2 km) path, and ranks as the eighth most destructive tornado in American history.
Storm synopsis
The storm system that caused the tornado had produced severe weather, including two weak tornadoes, in eastern PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
that morning. This was an unusual setup for a significant tornado, associated with a warm front
Warm front
A warm front is a density discontinuity located at the leading edge of a homogeneous warm air mass, and is typically located on the equator-facing edge of an isotherm gradient...
near a low-pressure center. A thunderstorm cell formed south of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
around 10:20 am, and became a supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
sometime later after interacting with a surface low-pressure center. It turned north as a left-moving supercell, meaning it moved left with respect to the mean atmospheric flow. Left-moving supercells are very rare, as cyclonic storms usually turn to the right of the mean flow. It is unknown whether this leftward movement was due to an atmospheric interaction or terrain-induced movement, as the storm moved straight up the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
valley.
No tornado watch
Tornado watch
A tornado watch is issued when conditions are right for a tornado to form. Since any thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado is defined as severe, a tornado watch is also automatically a severe thunderstorm watch...
es or warnings
Tornado warning
A tornado warning is an alert issued by government weather services to warn that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes may be imminent. It can be issued after a tornado or funnel cloud has been spotted by eye, or more commonly if there are radar indications of tornado formation...
were issued before the storm struck. This was later determined to be because of missing atmospheric sounding
Atmospheric sounding
An atmospheric sounding is a measurement of vertical distribution of physical properties of the atmospheric column such as pressure, temperature, wind speed and wind direction , liquid water content, ozone concentration, pollution, and other properties...
data, as well as an incorrect assessment of the height of the tropopause
Tropopause
The tropopause is the atmospheric boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.-Definition:Going upward from the surface, it is the point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry...
, which led to an underestimation of the strength of the thunderstorm which produced the tornado. Although a severe thunderstorm warning
Severe thunderstorm warning
A severe thunderstorm warning is issued when trained storm spotters or a Doppler weather radar indicate a strong thunderstorm is producing dangerously large hail or high winds, capable of causing significant damage. In the United States, it does not account for lightning or flooding...
was issued at 2:57 pm, very few people received the warnings in time.
The tornado touched down in Poquonock, Connecticut, a village in the town of Windsor, just north of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. Poquonock Elementary School was heavily damaged; fortunately, students were sent home early at 1:30 pm on Wednesdays. Students at a Brownie meeting were led into a hallway just before the auditorium they had been in was destroyed. The tornado traveled almost due north, an unusual direction for a tornado. The most severe damage occurred along River Road, Hollow Brook Road, Pioneer Drive and Settler Circle, where large frame houses
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
were left "in splinters". The tornado roughly followed Connecticut Route 75 just east of Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....
. The airport's weather station recorded a wind gust of 39 m/s (87.2 mph; 140.4 km/h) as the tornado passed nearby. A United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
flight with 114 passengers was attempting to land as the tornado was passing the airport; the pilot saw the tornado and was able to abort the landing
Go-around
A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.- Origin of the term :The term arises from the traditional use of traffic patterns at airfields. A landing aircraft will first join the circuit pattern and prepare for landing in an orderly fashion...
just in time. The tornado then crossed the northern portion of the airport, where the New England Air Museum
New England Air Museum
The New England Air Museum is located at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA. The museum is housed in three large display buildings consisting of more than of exhibit space...
was located. More than 20 vintage aircraft were completely destroyed, with many more damaged. The museum's hangar was also rendered unusable. The tornado moved north a bit further before dissipating in the town of Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; and in 1910, 3,841. As of the...
, just south of the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
state line.
The tornado was accompanied by more than 7 centimetres (2.8 in) of rain, and several instances of downburst
Downburst
A downburst is created by an area of significantly rain-cooled air that, after reaching ground level, spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Unlike winds in a tornado, winds in a downburst are directed outwards from the point where it hits land or water...
winds. Damage from downburst winds was reported across the Connecticut River in Enfield
Enfield, Connecticut
Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,212 at the 2000 census. It sits on the border with Longmeadow, Massachusetts and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the...
.
Aftermath
Because there were no tornado warnings before the storm (and it occurred in an area where tornadoes are rare), the initial damage reports claimed an explosion had damaged a roof. Soon, however, the storm's nature and impact became apparent. Governor Ella Grasso lived just a block away from the tornado's path, though she was in Hartford at the time of the storm. She declared an 8 pm–5 am curfew in the days following the tornado. About 500 National Guardsmen were activated to prevent lootingLooting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and direct traffic, and the area was declared a disaster area
Disaster area
A disaster area is a region or a locale heavily damaged by either natural hazards, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards including nuclear and radiation accidents, or sociological hazards like riots, terrorism or war. The population living there often...
by President Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. FEMA trailer
FEMA trailer
The term FEMA trailer,or FEMA travel trailer, is the name commonly given by the United States Government to many forms of temporary manufactured housing assigned to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita or other events, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency...
s were provided within a few days, and were used by many residents until reconstruction or repairs could be completed. In all, at least 38 businesses were damaged or destroyed, 65 homes were completely destroyed, and at least 75 homes were damaged. Twenty-five tobacco sheds were "extensively damaged". At the airport, at least 30 vintage aircraft were damaged or destroyed, as well as most of the state's National Guard helicopters. The final damage total reached $200 million (1979 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
), or $442 million in 1997 dollars.
Because of the vast scope of the damage, initially Windsor town officials feared many, possibly even hundreds, of people could have been killed. While there were many serious injuries, only three people were killed by the storm. Two victims,construction workers, working in a bank parking, lot took shelter in a work truck when they saw the storm approach, the first victim was killed immediately by a piece of flying lumber, the other died a few weeks later from his injuries becoming the 3rd victim. The second victim was found the next day across the street from her obliterated house. . Over 400 people were hospitalized, mostly for injuries from flying glass or the victims' having been thrown by winds.
Records
The tornado was the costliest on record in the Northeastern United StatesNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, and the eighth-costliest in US history. The three people who were killed made it the deadliest tornado in Connecticut since the 1878 Wallingford tornado.