...MICROBURST AND F2 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN WENDELL MASSACHUSETTS ON
            TUESDAY JULY 11...
            
            A DAMAGE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN WENDELL MASSACHUSETTS TODAY BY THE
            NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON...IN COOPERATION WITH THE SKYWARN
            AMATEUR RADIO COORDINATOR FOR WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...THE
            MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY...THE MASSACHUSETTS
            DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION...AND THE ATHOL FIRE
            DEPARTMENT.
            
            BASED UPON THE DAMAGE SURVEY...INTERVIEWS WITH EYEWITNESSES AND
            DOPPLER RADAR DATA...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED A COMBINATION
            OF STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE AND A TORNADO...WHICH HAS BEEN RATED AS
            A STRONG F2 WITH WIND SPEEDS NEAR 155 MPH.
            
            DAMAGE BEGAN AROUND 230 PM EDT...ABOUT 200 YARDS WEST OF MONTAGUE
            ROAD. STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE EXTENDED FROM MONTAGUE ROAD 1.5
            MILES EAST TO WICKET POND IN THE WENDELL STATE FOREST. LARGE
            OAK...MAPLE AND PINE TREES WERE UPROOTED AND SNAPPED IN THIS AREA.
            SOME OAKS JUST OVER TWO FEET IN DIAMETER WERE SNAPPED ABOUT 10 TO
            15 FEET FROM THE GROUND. DAMAGE FROM THE MICROBURST EXTENDED ALONG A
            PATH OF ONE AND A HALF MILES IN LENGTH...AND ANYWHERE FROM 50 TO
            300 YARDS WIDE. WIND SPEEDS WERE ESTIMATED AS HIGH AS 90 MPH.
            
            TORNADO DAMAGE FIRST APPEARED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF WICKET
            POND. AN EYEWITNESS REPORTED SEEING A 6 FOOT WAVE FORM ON THE POND.
            IN ADDITION...THE PARK SUPERVISOR REPORTED THAT THE LEVEL OF THE POND
            WAS LOWERED 6 TO 8 INCHES BY THE STORM. ON THE WEST SIDE OF WICKET
            POND MANY TREES SNAPPED 15 TO 20 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND...WITH DEBRIS
            IN A CHAOTIC PATTERN.
            
            THE NEXT AREA OF DAMAGE WAS ON WICKET POND ROAD WHERE THE MOST SEVERE
            DAMAGE OCCURRED. TREES AS LARGE AS 3 FEET IN DIAMETER WERE UPROOTED.
            BARK WAS STRIPPED OFF TREES AND A HOUSE HAD PART OF ITS ROOF TORN
            OFF. THE TORNADO TRACKED TO THE EAST ALONG WICKET POND ROAD...
            PASSING OVER DEPOT ROAD WHICH IS IN WENDELL CENTER. PART OF A ROOF
            WAS TORN OFF AN OLD BARN AND MANY TREES WERE UPROOTED.
            
            AFTER CROSSING DEPOT ROAD...THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO TRACK TO THE
            EAST...PASSING NORTH OF MORSE VILLAGE ROAD. A CONSTRUCTION STORAGE
            TRAILER WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND ITS ROOF WAS WRAPPED AROUND
            A TREE. TREES WERE ALSO UPROOTED OR SNAPPED IN THIS AREA. DAMAGE
            CAME TO AN END ABOUT ONE HALF MILE EAST OF NEW SALEM ROAD NEAR A
            POWER LINE.
            
            THE PATH LENGTH OF THE TORNADO WAS APPROXIMATELY 2.9 MILES LONG.
            ITS AVERAGE WIDTH WAS 200 YARDS...VARYING FROM 100 TO 300 YARDS.
            
            A DAMAGE SURVEY IS ALSO ONGOING IN MARBLEHEAD MASSACHUSETTS...TO
            DETERMINE IF ANOTHER TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN THERE TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
            ANOTHER PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ONCE THAT SURVEY
            HAS BEEN COMPLETED.