Recapping the rare Massachusetts tornadoes that left an inn without its roof
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
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On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, a tornado hit Cape Cod, Mass. The tornado knocked down trees, power lines, and other damage. Annually, the United States gets around 1,253 tornadoes. On average, Massachusetts gets one twister.
A storm hit the area, producing rain, hailstones, heavy winds, and a tornado.
Incredible video from Chatham today...#Boston25 pic.twitter.com/X8yzzmIGWo
Incredible video from Chatham today...Matt Touchette on Twitter: "Incredible video from Chatham today...#Boston25 pic.twitter.com/X8yzzmIGWo / Twitter" Matt Touchette on Twitter: "Incredible video from Chatham today...#Boston25 pic.twitter.com/X8yzzmIGWo / Twitter"
— Matt Touchette (@touchettenews) Matt Touchette on Twitter: "Incredible video from Chatham today...#Boston25 pic.twitter.com/X8yzzmIGWo / Twitter"
At around 11:50 a.m., the storm formed a mesocyclone, which is the rotating part of a thunderstorm. A rear flank downdraft caused the mesocyclone to come ashore.
Cape Cod Tornado 2019 South Dennis pic.twitter.com/V8jKKugcTw
Cape Cod Tornado 2019 South Dennis Darlene KettellJolls on Twitter: "Cape Cod Tornado 2019 South Dennis pic.twitter.com/V8jKKugcTw / Twitter"
— Darlene KettellJolls (@DarleneJolls) Darlene KettellJolls on Twitter: "Cape Cod Tornado 2019 South Dennis pic.twitter.com/V8jKKugcTw / Twitter"
At around noon, the tornado touched down in South Yarmouth. The twister brought winds as strong as 144 km/h. The wind gusts tore the roof off Cape Sands Inn in West Yarmouth.
After touching down in Yarmouth, the tornado hit the town of Harwich. Both of the locations received EF-1 damage.
The damaged power lines knocked out the power for 50,000 people.
⚠️🌪⛈We're mobilizing crews who will assess the damage caused by the severe weather & #CapeCodTornado. As of 3pm there are over 50,000 customers without power. Stay clear of downed wires and report them to 9-1-1. Call us to report an outage 800-592-2000. pic.twitter.com/Wi5xCB8HZO
⚠️🌪⛈We’re mobilizing crews who will assess the damage caused by the severe weather & Eversource MA on Twitter: "⚠️🌪⛈We're mobilizing crews who will assess the damage caused by the severe weather & #CapeCodTornado. As of 3pm there are over 50,000 customers without power. Stay clear of downed wires and report them to 9-1-1. Call us to report an outage 800-592-2000. pic.twitter.com/Wi5xCB8HZO / Twitter". As of 3pm there are over 50,000 customers without power. Stay clear of downed wires and report them to 9-1-1. Call us to report an outage 800-592-2000. Eversource MA on Twitter: "⚠️🌪⛈We're mobilizing crews who will assess the damage caused by the severe weather & #CapeCodTornado. As of 3pm there are over 50,000 customers without power. Stay clear of downed wires and report them to 9-1-1. Call us to report an outage 800-592-2000. pic.twitter.com/Wi5xCB8HZO / Twitter"
Tornadoes in Cape Cod are exceptionally rare. There are only four on record since 1950.
To learn more about the rare Massachusetts tornado, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
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Thumbnail: Cape Cod, Mass. Courtesy of @EversourceMA/Twitter