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The Windsor Locks, Connecticut tornado struck the towns of Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Suffield, Connecticut and Feeding Hills, Massachusetts on October 3, 1979. The short-lived but intense tornado struck without warning and caused three deaths and 500 injuries. The storm, rated F4 on the Fujita scale, also caused more than $400 million in property damage along an path, and ranks as the ninth most destructive tornado in American history.〔Data from the Storm Prediction Center archives, which are accessible through (SeverePlot ), free software created and maintained by John Hart, lead forecaster for the SPC.〕 ==Storm synopsis== The storm system that caused the tornado had produced severe weather, including two weak tornadoes, in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey that morning.〔 〕 This was an unusual setup for a significant tornado, associated with a warm front near a low-pressure center. A thunderstorm cell formed south of Long Island around 10:20 am, and became a supercell sometime later after interacting with a surface low-pressure center.〔 It turned north as a left-moving supercell, meaning it moved left with respect to the mean atmospheric flow. Left-moving supercells are very rare, as cyclonic storms usually turn to the right of the mean flow.〔(Anticyclonic (Left-Moving) Supercell ) National Weather Service Birmingham, Alabama. Accessed 2009-06-05.〕 It is unknown whether this leftward movement was due to an atmospheric interaction or terrain-induced movement, as the storm moved straight up the Connecticut River valley.〔 No tornado watches or warnings were issued before the storm struck. This was later determined to be because of missing atmospheric sounding data, as well as an incorrect assessment of the height of the tropopause, which led to an underestimation of the strength of the thunderstorm which produced the tornado.〔 Although a severe thunderstorm warning was issued at 2:57 pm, very few people received the warnings in time. The tornado touched down in Poquonock, Connecticut, a village in the town of Windsor, just north of Hartford. Poquonock Elementary School was heavily damaged; fortunately, students were sent home early at 1:30 pm on Wednesdays.〔 Students at a Brownie meeting were led into a hallway just before the auditorium they had been in was destroyed. The historic Poquonock Community Church building had its roof ripped off. Miraculously, all but one of the stain glass windows from the old church were salvaged.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.pccwindsor.com/history.html )〕 The tornado traveled almost due north, an unusual direction for a tornado. The most severe damage occurred along River Road, Hollow Brook Road, Pioneer Drive and Settler Circle, where large frame houses were left "in splinters".〔 The tornado roughly followed Connecticut Route 75 just east of Bradley International Airport. The airport's weather station recorded a wind gust of as the tornado passed nearby.〔 A United Airlines flight with 114 passengers was attempting to land as the tornado was passing the airport; the pilot saw the tornado and was able to abort the landing just in time. The tornado then crossed the northern portion of the airport, where the New England Air Museum was located. More than 20 vintage aircraft were completely destroyed, with many more damaged. The museum's hangar was also rendered unusable. The tornado moved north into Feeding Hills before dissipating near the Westfield city line, about five miles north of the Massachusetts state line. The tornado was accompanied by more than of rain, and several instances of downburst winds.〔 Damage from downburst winds was reported across the Connecticut River in Enfield. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Windsor Locks, Connecticut tornado」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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