A line of severe thunderstorms moved across much of the Bay State during the afternoon and early evening, producing widespread wind damage.  There were numerous reports of downed trees, power lines, and large branches from the Connecticut River Valley to the Worcester Hills, Merrimack Valley, and the eastern Massachusetts coastline from Marblehead to Hingham.  Amateur radio operators measured wind gusts to 71 mph in Easthampton and to 59 mph in West Springfield as the storms moved through.  In the city of Boston,winds estimated near 60 mph blew down scaffolding on a school building, while in Salem winds of similar magnitude ripped siding off a house.A tornado briefly touched down in West Brookfield at 315 pm, and there were no injuries reported.  The tornado had an approximate path width of 75 yards, a path length of about one-half mile, and was only on the ground for about 30 seconds, as determined by a National Weather Service survey of the area.  The intensity of the tornado was determined to be an F1 on the Fujita damage scale, which corresponds to wind speeds between 73 and 112 mph.  It is likely that winds were closer to the upper region of that range.  The tornado formed over the northeast portion of Lake Wickaboag and traveled to the east, dissipating just to the east of the portion of Wickaboag Valley Road that is adjacent to the lake.  Microburst damage was evident for about another two miles east of where the tornado circulation ended.Eyewitnesses reported that a curtain of water was drawn from the lake as high as 50 feet into the air, and traveled east.  A portion of it hit a house by the lake, causing its roof to fly off and become embedded to a tree across the street.  There was also a brief flash as power lines were downed on Wickaboag Valley Road.  Although most downed trees were facing southwest to northeast, there was some evidence of trees blown down to the north and northwest near the lake.The same thunderstorm was responsible for another microburst in Spencer.  Large trees were uprooted, some of which landed on cars and houses.  Wind speeds were estimated to be near 100 mph based upon the damage observed.Another severe thunderstorm produced a microburst in Concord, as determined by a National Weather Service survey, which occurred between 345 and 400 pm.  Straight line winds on Monument Street were estimated near 75 mph.  Numerous large trees were snapped off and uprooted, which in turn knocked down many electric poles and wires.  A couple of large trees were snapped off, and fell on a house on Monument Street.  The microburst was approximately one-half mile wide and about one and a half miles long.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 13:10:00 to 23-JUL-02 13:10:00 (EST)
Location: SHELBURNE
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMPDEN, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 13:52:00 to 23-JUL-02 13:55:00 (EST)
Location: WEST SPRINGFIELD
Magnitude: 51 M
Property damage: 10K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 13:43:00 to 23-JUL-02 13:53:00 (EST)
Location: NORTHAMPTON
Magnitude: 62 M
Property damage: 8K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 13:45:00 to 23-JUL-02 13:55:00 (EST)
Location: NORTHFIELD
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 8K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Tornado in WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 14:15:00 to 23-JUL-02 14:15:00 (EST)
Location: WEST BROOKFIELD
Tornado F-scale: F1
Property damage: 50K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Brief F1 touchdown

Thunderstorm Wind in WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 14:30:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:00:00 (EST)
Location: EAST BROOKFIELD
Magnitude: 85 E
Property damage: 25K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Thunderstorm Wind in MIDDLESEX, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 14:04:00 to 23-JUL-02 14:20:00 (EST)
Location: PEPPERELL
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMPDEN, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 14:36:00 to 23-JUL-02 14:41:00 (EST)
Location: WESTFIELD
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in ESSEX, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 15:07:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:22:00 (EST)
Location: PEABODY
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 15K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in SUFFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 15:20:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:20:00 (EST)
Location: BOSTON
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 8K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 15:25:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:25:00 (EST)
Location: WORCESTER
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 2K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in NORFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 15:45:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:45:00 (EST)
Location: SHARON
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 2K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 16:00:00 to 23-JUL-02 16:00:00 (EST)
Location: HINGHAM
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 1K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in NORFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 16:05:00 to 23-JUL-02 16:05:00 (EST)
Location: WEYMOUTH
Magnitude: 50 E
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO

Thunderstorm Wind in MIDDLESEX, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 14:45:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:00:00 (EST)
Location: CONCORD
Magnitude: 65 E
Property damage: 35K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Lightning in PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 16:30:00 to 23-JUL-02 16:30:00 (EST)
Location: BROCKTON
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning in MIDDLESEX, MASSACHUSETTS
From 23-JUL-02 15:00:00 to 23-JUL-02 15:00:00 (EST)
Location: CONCORD
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: NEWSPAPER