The tornadoes that blew across Western Massachusetts Wednesday ranged from EF1 to EF3 or stronger, according to the National Weather Service.
The first tornado was the significant one that tracked 39 miles through western Massachusetts from Westfield to Charlton in Hampden and Worcester counties and is rated an EF3 tornado according to the National Weather Service report.
It's the first EF3 rated tornado in southern New England since the 1995 tornado in Great Barrington, Mass., NBC Connecticut Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan said.
The following two tornadoes which swept through Wilbraham and North Brimfield occurred about two hours after the first one and they were rated as EF1 tornadoes according to the National Weather Service tornado report.
An EF3 tornado has winds of 136-165 mph.
The tornadoes tore across Springfield and other areas, including Monson and Brimfield. Three people were killed in the storms, and hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged. Some of the damage may be consistent with an EF4 classification, but the National Weather Service will make that determination at a later time.
Connecticut's strongest tornado on record occurred on October 3, 1979 in Windsor Locks. The twister was an F4 on the Fujita Scale at the time.
