"Funnel clouds, hail reported in parts of state; Storms predicted for state today" by Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent | August 8, 2008
Funnel clouds swept across Western Massachusetts yesterday, tearing off tree tops and scattering debris, according to witnesses and the National Weather Service.
A cloud in New Salem - a town of about 900 people located 11 miles northeast of Amherst - was reported at 2:36 p.m. The cloud was moving east at 10 miles an hour, according to spotters for the National Weather Service.
Minutes later, a funnel cloud was reported in Sunderland - a town of about 4,000 that neighbors Amherst, at 2:42 p.m.
That is JUST down the ROAD, folks!!!
Karen Smiarowski, 55, who runs the Smiarowski Farm Stand with her husband, said she saw the cloud while she was looking east from her business on River Road.
I know where that is, and I know who they are!!!!!!
She said it was about 2 miles away, and initially, she did not know what it was.
"It was the strangest thing," she said. "We were looking at it, and it was sucking everything right back into the cloud from the ground up."
She wasn't frightened, though, Smiarowski said.
"It didn't really look that mean. It looked like a friendly one," she said.
Funnel clouds are defined as funnel-shaped clouds that rapidly rotate downward. Once the funnel touches the ground, it is considered a tornado.
Other severe weather conditions were reported in the area. Hail was reported in several towns including Marlborough, Hudson, and Grafton, and flooding was reported in areas, including Springfield and Holyoke.
Weather advisories were in effect yesterday evening, including a severe thunderstorm watch for most of the state.
The rain is expected to continue through today, when the National Weather Service has predicted severe thunderstorms throughout the state.
As a resident of the state, the daily thunderclaps are starting to get to me.
The rainy days are continuing into August after records were set in July. The state recorded 6 inches of rain this July, almost doubling the average 3.06 inches."
Yeah, but the damn paper wouldn't tell you it has been a COOLER-than-AVERAGE SUMMER around here!!!
Of course, that would conflict with the global-warming fart mist, so.....
