A tornado warning for parts of Massachusetts was canceled about 6 p.m. Thursday after it was issued shortly before 5:30 p.m. for areas of Worcester, Middlesex, Hampshire and Hampden counties. The warning was triggered by radar indicated rotation, and no tornadoes have been confirmed.
The warning came during an active evening of severe weather alerts across the region. A tornado watch had already been posted for parts of Massachusetts earlier Thursday afternoon, and a severe thunderstorm warning remained in effect until 7 p.m. for parts of Worcester, Norfolk and Middlesex counties.
That broader watch covered Essex, Middlesex, Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties in Massachusetts, along with New Hampshire and southern Maine, all until 7 p.m. The Storms Prediction Center had placed areas north and west of Boston and I-95 in a 2% tornado risk, while a broader brown area from southwestern New Hampshire through Vermont and the Berkshires carried a 5% tornado risk.
The setup left central and eastern Massachusetts in the window of greatest concern from about 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., which is why the warnings landed during the evening commute and then expired before the night was over. Even so, the lack of any confirmed tornado means the radar signal did not become a verified touchdown, and any storm damage that may have occurred during the warning period was not addressed.
For residents in the warned counties, the immediate threat eased once the tornado warning was canceled, but the severe thunderstorm warning still pointed to dangerous weather through 7 p.m. Thursday. In practice, that left one question unsettled after the tornado alert ended: whether the storms caused damage before the warnings cleared.
