Wakefield, MA F1 Tornado of July 21, 1972

Essex County


Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 8:00 am EDT, which shows a cold front moving across the Great Lakes. This front eventually moved across Massachusetts throughout the afternoon and triggered thunderstorms, which ultimately led to this tornado.

Figure 1. Surface weather map for July 21, 1972 at 8:00 am EDT (NOAA, 2019).

The Wakefield, MA F1 tornado of July 21, 1972 impacted Essex County in Massachusetts. According to NOAA (2019), the F1 tornado caused no fatalities or injuries and caused $2500 dollars in property damage. The tornado touched down near Middlesex Road at 5:00 pm EDT. The tornado travelled for 0.3 miles and had a maximum width of 20 yards.


Sources

NOAA Central Library. (2019). U.S. Daily Weather Maps. Friday July 21, 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/