Hubbardston, MA EF0 Tornado of October 23, 2018

Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 2:00 pm EDT, which shows a warm front extending along the northeastern United States, which provided the focus for thunderstorm development in the early afternoon hours of October 23rd, which ultimately led to this tornado.

**Figure 1.** Surface analysis at 18Z on October 23, 2018 showing mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) contours, surface observations, fronts and pressure centers (WPC, 2017)

The Hubbardston, MA EF0 tornado of October 23, 2018 impacted Worcester County in Massachusetts. According to NOAA (2020), the EF0 tornado caused no fatalities or injuries. The damage caused by this tornado was not documented by NOAA. The tornado touched down near Brigham Street at 4:26 pm EDT. The tornado travelled for 1 mile and had a maximum width of 100 yards.

**Figure 2.** Episode narrative for October 23, 2018 (NOAA NCEI, 2020).

Sources

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 18Z Tue Oct 23 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/archives/web_pages/sfc/sfc_archive.php

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2020). Storm Events Database. Retrieved from: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/

National Centers for Environmental Information reports:

Although the NWS did not conduct an on-site survey for this storm, we declared that a tornado touched down in Hubbardston around 426 PM EDT. The determination was based on doppler radar imagery, damage photos, conversations with town officials, and the history of storms in the region that afternoon. This tornado was from a separate cell from the one that produced a tornado in Hardwick. The tornado began on the northernmost island within Brigham Pond. It traveled to the northeast, crossing near Brigham Street and Evergreen Road, the moved across railroad tracks, and ended in a wooded area a short distance beyond the tracks, to the west of the southern portion of Old Westminster Road. Dozens of trees were uprooted or snapped in half. A few telephone poles were snapped at the top. Some siding from a building was discovered on Old Westminster Road.

Sources

National Centers for Environmental Information reports:

Through the Eyes of Our Chasers