A tornado struck the downtown area of one of Massachusetts’ largest cities Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were immediately reported.
Television news footage showed buildings Main Street with their top floors pulverized or sheared off. Video aired by WWLP-TV showed a debris-filled funnel roaring into downtown from the west, crossing the Connecticut River and tossing water and debris.
Thomas Walsh, a spokesman for Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, told The Associated Press he was looking out his City Hall window around 4:30 p.m. when he saw the funnel.
The storm hit as workers were beginning to leave for the evening commute home. A tractor-trailer overturned during the storm on the Memorial Bridge leading to West Springfield.
Walsh said city officials rushed to the basement when the danger became apparent. He said he didn’t know of any injuries.
Damage at the city’s Cathedral High School included some blown-out windows, said Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Springfield. All the students are safe, he said.
The storm hit Springfield after a tornado watch was issued for much of the East Coast, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
Massachusetts state police got numerous reports of tornado sightings Wednesday, including in Springfield, Monson and Wilbraham.
