West Brookfield, MA F1 Tornado of July 23, 2002

Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 2:00 pm EDT, which shows a cold front moving across the northeastern United States and a trough moving across Massachusetts. This trough became the focus for thunderstorms, which ultimately led to this tornado.

**Figure 1.** Surface analysis at 18Z on July 23, 2002 showing mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) contours, surface observations, fronts and pressure centres (WPC, 2017)

The West Brookfield, MA F1 tornado of July 23, 2002 impacted Worcester County in Massachusetts. According to NOAA (2019), the F1 tornado caused no fatalities or injuries, but caused $50 thousand dollars in property damage. The tornado touched down near Railroad Avenue at 3:15 pm EDT. The tornado travelled for 0.4 miles and had a maximum width of 75 yards.

**Figure 2.** Episode narrative for July 23, 2002 (NOAA NCEI, 2020).

Sources

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 18Z Tue Jul 23 2002. 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/

Sources

Through the Eyes of Our Chasers