North Leverett, MA F2 Tornado of August 27, 1972

Franklin County


Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 8:00 am EDT, which shows a cold front across the northeastern United States and a warm front south of Massachusetts. This warm front became the focus for thunderstorm activity throughout the afternoon hours of August 27th, which ultimately led to this tornado.

Figure 1. Surface weather map for August 27, 1972 at 8:00 am EDT (NOAA, 2019).

The North Leverett, MA F2 tornado of August 27, 1972 impacted Franklin County in Massachusetts. According to NOAA (2019), the F2 tornado caused no fatalities or injuries, but caused $25 thousand dollars in property damage. The tornado touched down near North Leverett at 6:15 pm EDT. The tornado travelled for 1 mile and had a maximum width of 100 yards.


Sources

NOAA Central Library. (2019). U.S. Daily Weather Maps. Sunday August 27, 1972 [PDF]. Retrieved from https://library.noaa.gov/Collections/Digital-Collections/US-Daily-Weather-Maps

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2019). Storm Events Database. Retrieved from: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/