No injuries. No deaths. Lots of cleanup’ after tornado hits Concord

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Dina Rudick/Globe Staff

CONCORD — A rare nighttime tornado, packing winds of up to 100 miles an hour, cut a destructive half-mile path Monday morning, uprooting trees and damaging dozens of homes.
The twister, which touched down around 3:20 a.m., caused significant tree damage and left hundreds of homes without power. But there were no injuries, and somehow just one house sustained significant structural damage, officials said.

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After assessing the damage Monday to determine whether it was indeed inflicted by a tornado, National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham declared: “I’ve seen enough evidence. This was caused by an EF1 tornado.”
That designation applies to tornados that are relatively weak, but still strong enough to cause significant damage and rip the roof off homes. The ratings go from EF0 to EF5.
In all, 39 homes were damaged, officials said. The area around Independence and Alcott roads, which received the brunt of the storm, was littered with fallen trees, leafy branches, and power lines.
Kurt Schwartz, who directs the state’s emergency management agency, said the storm recovery, from clearing trees to rebuilding damaged infrastructure, could cost about $1 million. The agency will help the town determine whether it qualifies for disaster relief, he said.

  It was the first night tornado in Massachusetts since July 11, 1970, when a twister hit Townsend at 2:15 a.m. Because tornados are generated by warm, moist air, they are less likely to occur at night.
Residents said they were jolted from sleep Monday morning by a sound so loud

“No injuries. No deaths. Lots of cleanup,” said Concord Fire Chief Mark Cotreau, who urged people to stay away from the area because of dangerous downed power lines. Damage was concentrated in the area near Alcott and Independence roads, where trees were uprooted or sheared off at the top by a storm one resident described as “ungodly.”