National Weather Service Confirms EF2 Tornado Hit Revere
BOSTON (CBS/AP) – National Weather Service meteorologists have confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down in Revere Monday morning.
The tornado was spawned by a powerful storm that moved through the Boston area shortly after 9 a.m. A tornado warning had been issued Monday morning by the National Weather Service for parts of Essex County. The warning was lifted shortly after 10 a.m.
Related: Revere Residents Surprised By Tornado
NWS officials say the tornado had a path length of two miles and width of 3/8 mile. Maximum wind gusts were estimated at between 100 and 120 MPH.
State police are assisting Revere police with road closures, flooding, trees down and structural damage throughout the city.
More than 60 buildings were damaged and 13 homes are uninhabitable. More than a dozen roads are impassable.
A temporary shelter was setup earlier in the day but has now closed, according to the Red Cross. A mobile feeding unit has provided 50 residents with food.
Revere police are asking people to avoid the city until further notice. The MBTA reported that buses are experiencing delays and many detours in Revere.
Revere Deputy Fire Chief Viviano told WBZ NewsRadio 1030, "Never in my life have I seen anything like this, we are just getting inundated with hundreds of 911 calls."
Viviano said cars were crushed and windows were blown out. "We have no idea what happened," he said.
Calls to the fire department included reports of partial building and roof collapses and power lines down, Viviano said.
City officials said there are no reports of serious injuries, but several people suffered minor injuries, including a baby who was in a car and hurt by flying glass and an elderly woman who suffered cuts.
"Given the magnitude of the storm, it's really a miracle that no one sustained more serious injuries," Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo said.
Revere police reported they were responding to multiple possible gas leaks. As of noon, National Grid said power lines are down and there were more than 3,000 customers without power in Revere.
There appears to be extensive damage to the roof of the Ice Arena on Revere Beach Parkway, WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reported. He also reported there is extensive damage to Revere City Hall, where windows were blown out, the the roof was damaged and large trees were down.
The NWS said that from 1950 through April 2014, 162 tornadoes were confirmed in Massachusetts, but Monday's Revere tornado is the first reported in Suffolk County since they begin keeping records in 1950.
Forecasters had expected more powerful thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy rain would affect portions of Massachusetts, even as the region cleans up from the latest round of severe storms.
A powerful storm moved through the Boston area shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday producing heavy rain and flooding some roadways.
Route 1 was closed in both directions in Danvers at Route 114 due to flooding, state police said. Drivers are advised to seek alternate routes.
The Lynnfield tunnel on Route 1 has also been closed due to flooding.
The MBTA was forced to temporarily put commuters on buses instead of trains at some stations that experienced severe flooding, particularly on the Green Line.
Gallery: Storm photos
On Sunday, heavy rains flooded roads and basements in Worcester. The Telegram Gazette reports that some motorists became stuck in the downtown area as the waters rapidly rose. Flooding was also reported on Interstate 290.
Lightning was blamed for starting a four-alarm fire in Stow.
Violent thunderstorms in western Massachusetts left thousands of customers temporarily without power.
The Berkshire Eagle reports that town officials in Dalton declared a state of emergency after trees felled by the storm struck several homes in one neighborhood.
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