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'Nobody expected us to have a tornado in Springfield, Massachusetts,' a look back at devastation 14 years later
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – It's been 14 years since one of the most destructive days in western Massachusetts.
'I watched the tornado come across my back porch and go to Island Pond Road. It took my plants and blew them inside my house,' said John Balsam of Springfield.
Homes were completely destroyed, the roofs of schools were torn off, and few trees were left standing in some parts of the woods. An EF-3 tornado caused severe damage across western Massachusetts when it touched down on June 1st, 2011.
Sunday marks 14 years since tornado hit in W. Mass.
Sunday afternoon, bells rang at the old first church in the court square. The time was 4:38 p.m., that's when a tornado touched down in Springfield. Fourteen years since the devastation, some still remember where they were and what they heard as the tornado passed through Springfield.
'I came out and my neighbor beside me said, 'was that a tornado, because it just went really really fast?',' said Beverly Brown of Springfield.
From Westfield to Charlton, it took weeks to clean up the debris and destruction left behind. Three people were killed and more than 30 were seriously hurt. As residents look back on June 1, 2011, they say they've taken away a few things.
'Just don't be surprised by what Mother Nature can do. Nobody expected us to have a tornado in Springfield, Massachusetts,' John Balsam of Springfield told 22News.
'Once I hear that noise that sounded like a freight train, I'll have an idea that it is a tornado,' said Beverly Brown of Springfield.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on
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