On July 8, 1680 a “thick black cloud” tore down trees, unroofed a barn and killed a man in Cambridge, according to the first written record of a tornado in the U.S.
The funnel “was filled with, stones, bushes, and other things,” according to the National Weather Service.
Eyewitnesses wrote, “a thick black cloud in continuous circular motion produced a great noise in the process of tearing down trees and picking up bushes, trees and large stones,” the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X.
John Robbins, a servant, was killed in the storm. He is considered the first recorded tornado victim.
Tornadoes in New England can be expected through the summer months of June, July and August. In Massachusetts, Bay State residents can expect around a handful during that time, though they are usually “weak and short-lived, only lasting a few minutes, but they can still produce damage,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said.
Tornadoes of a stronger caliber are rare in Massachusetts, Dellicarpini said. Exceptions include the historic Worcester Tornado of June 1953, which was rated as an F-4 in 1971 after the Fujita scale was developed, and the June 2011 Springfield Tornado, which was rated at an EF-3.
However, that could change.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s climate action tool website suggests that in the United States as a whole, increased warming caused by climate change “could increase the frequency of severe storms that include tornadoes, damaging wind, and hail, particularly in the summer.”
Forecasters do see the possibility of more tornadoes in Massachusetts in the future, Dellicarpini said. While the warmer atmosphere could lead to more thunderstorm days, he said it is not a certainty “but something that seems to be more likely to occur.”
