Author Topic: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson  (Read 7073 times)

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Offline Megster

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Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« on: June 03, 2011, 06:45:12 AM »
Go see it, it's worth the drive.  And Belchertown is nearby!  :wacko:  And gas is cheap in Mass.  (seriously I know most of you are from there or RI but in CT our gas is still over $4.)

Worst damage is in Monson, go there first.  Springfield is indeed a mess but Monson is insane.  Don't trust your GPS to get you through Wilbraham either, I somehow managed to get down Tinkham Rd. from Main St. only because I drive a small Subaru, an SUV wouldn't have the clearance to get under some of the wires.  And I have no idea why that road wasn't closed or why no one stopped me from going down it, but then the more direct road to Monson was closed anyway.

You can take Rt. 32 directly to Monson, no problems ON 32 besides traffic from all the sightseers.

In Springfield, it looks like the tornado passed through a neighborhood of Victorian houses.  There's some cop on Main St. that's on some crazy power trip and likes to yell at people (avoid Main St. even the sidewalks haha) but otherwise most of the cops will let you take pictures and don't cross red tape (yellow tape a-ok lol)

Springfield:










Monson:



« Last Edit: June 08, 2011, 06:53:56 PM by Megster »
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Offline Chief

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2011, 08:09:35 AM »
Nice pics of the damage Meg, did you get a chance to swing by the old hospital in Monson? 

Offline Megster

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2011, 02:09:13 PM »
No, it's near impossible to navigate around the area as many roads are still closed.  Not only that but it was almost dark by the time I got there.  I went back up today for more Monson pics and to shoot Brimfield but all I could get from Brimfield was video because there was nowhere to stop and you couldn't even get down any road except Rt. 20 to a point and then Rt. 19 when you couldn't go down 20 anymore.  It's like the thing gained strength as it moved on--there's a clear path from Wilbraham all the way through Sturbridge (at the very least).  It was pretty hard for me to take usual roads home too --Rt. 131 is closed in parts, but Rt. 169 wasn't.  I have a wedding to shoot in Middletown this afternoon or I'd still be up there.
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Offline donnabhain

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2011, 11:35:20 AM »
Crazy! Might go check it out this week. How secure is Monson? I know it's still in use, isn't at least part of it a prison?

Just wait for the big one to hit Boston! You know . . the earthquake they say could hit anytime that nobody is prepared for, so half the city will just slide into the Atlantic. Don't worry, it'll never happen they say . . or maybe a hundred or a thousand years from now or tomorrow.

Folks don't realize, but MA gets as many tornadoes as TN per sq mi . . it's just that MA is tiny compared to a states like TN or MO.

If you look at this list from NOAA it says MA actually has more tornadoes per 10,000 sq mi than TN (3.83 compared to 2.91) and Florida has the most with 9.59. If you wanna avoid tornadoes you have to move to Alaska, they have 0 recorded. Vote for Palin and maybe we can win the war on tornadoes!

Offline Megster

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2011, 02:56:22 PM »
The whole area's going to be scarred for a long time to come, and each day more and more roads are accessible.  Monson has the best opportunities for pictures since Rt. 32 is open completely and the tornado passed through it.  Side roads are still impassible through the tornado's path.  Rt. 20 goes as far east as the intersection of Rt. 19, and then it's closed almost all the way to Sturbridge.  Rt. 131 in Sturbridge is closed, but Rt. 169 isn't (also can see a lot of tornado damage there as well).  This thing looks like it cut a path 1/2 mile wide and 40 miles long, you really can follow it from Springfield to Southbridge or so. 
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Offline donnabhain

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2011, 03:13:18 PM »
Forgot the NOAA link -> http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cae/svrwx/tornadobystate.htm

Trying to get ahold of a buddy of mine in Monson, no luck. Haven't heard from him since Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully they'll have more roads opened up by Monday. My other buddy lives near Sturbridge and they closed down where he works for a few days so we're gonna make the best of it.

Offline Kabli

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Re: Tornado damage: Springfield/Wilbraham/Monson
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2011, 01:44:28 PM »
Forgot the NOAA link -> http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cae/svrwx/tornadobystate.htm

Trying to get ahold of a buddy of mine in Monson, no luck. Haven't heard from him since Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully they'll have more roads opened up by Monday. My other buddy lives near Sturbridge and they closed down where he works for a few days so we're gonna make the best of it.

Any luck getting a hold of your friend?
Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.