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New England Weather

1786 Tornado

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1785 Great Freshet

1786 Snow Storms

ABOUT five o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, August 23, 1786, the people of Sturbridge and Southbridge, Mass., and Woodstock, Pomfret and Killingly, Conn., saw rising in the Northwestern sky a dark cloud, which whirled around and around, and with unusual velocity moved up to the zenith. It spread over all the sky that was visible to the people of that neighborhood in a few moments and darkness, surpassing that of the dark day of 1780, settled over them. The people had not long to ponder on what was about to take place, as in a moment or two a whirlwind or hurricane struck across the towns named, and the wind had wrought its work and sped on and up. The sky quickly grew light again, and the clouds passed away to the eastward. So suddenly and so expeditiously was the entire destruction wrought, and the sky so quickly cleared again, it would have seemed like a dream but for the killed and wounded people and cattle, the levelled houses and barns and other evidences of the awful hurricane lying all about. Pen cannot describe the dreadful havoc and injury that can be accomplished in a moment's time by one of these unwelcome visitors, and this instance of the wind's power is accounted one of the most destructive in our history.

The tornado proceeded in a southeasterly direction from Sturbridge, passing over Southbridge, then crossing the Connecticut line, continued its course over the north parish of Woodstock and over Pomfret to Chestnut hill in Killingly, its track being about a quarter of a mile wide. At Sturbridge, considerable damage was done to trees, crops and buildings. A number of fences and even heavy stone walls were tossed about in a state of confusion, and an orchard was wholly destroyed. A house and a barn were also torn into fragments, one of the plates of the latter being carried to a great height, whence it fell endwise, striking the earth fifteen rods from the place where it was taken up and penetrating the ground so deeply that it was almost immovable. At Woodstock, some groves, a large number of timber trees, and the fruit trees on thousands of acres of orchard were levelled, many fields of corn and other grain being also devastated in the same manner. Several hundred stacks of hay were lifted up and blown to pieces, being scattered over a wide extent of country. More than a hundred buildings were either unroofed, partly torn to pieces or wholly destroyed, a number of barns being blown down, and many having their roofs taken off. Some of the farmers in the town lost several cattle, they being killed by tilling timbers. A child was taken up by the wind, carried a long distance and dropped upon the earth, being much bruised. In Woodstock, only one human life was lost, and that fatality occurred in a very singular manner. Two large elm trees were torn out of the ground, carried by the wind above the roof of a house, upon which they were dropped, thereby crushing the entire dwelling and killing a woman who was in it. Among the incidents connected with this hurricane at Woodstock was the taking up of a wagon by the wind and placing it upon an apple-tree. At Pomfret, some damage was done, but at Killingly the wind was much more disastrous. A new house there, belonging to Othniel Brown, was blown entirely to pieces, and the boards and timbers, together with the household furniture and other articles were carried to a considerable distance. There were six persons in the house at the time, and they all escaped injury except Mrs. Brown, who was killed by being struck with a stick of timber.

In other places, a shower with thunder and lightning accompanied the tornado, doing considerable damage. At Providence, R. I., it was as dark as it was in Connecticut, vivid lightning lit up the heavens from time to time, and some rain fell, but the air was still, though in this town and at Rehoboth, in Massachusetts, a large quantity of leaves fell apparently from a great height indicating that a whirlwind had visited some place in the vicinity with its mighty power. Several places in Connecticut also suffered from the effects of the shower. At Canaan, a house was set on fire by the lightning and consumed. At East Haddam, a yoke of oxen had a very singular and narrow escape. They were standing yoked together, when the lightning struck the yoke staple, splitting the wood in such a manner that it released the animals from each other without injuring either. At East Hartford, four cows were killed under a tree ; and at Wethersfield a woman was struck by the lightning and fatally injured. At Windham, the darkness was almost as gross as it was at Woodstock, and during the shower here a stack of hay was set on fire by the lightning and wholly consumed.

At New London, Conn., the thunder shower was very violent, continuing about three hours, and being attended with almost incessant and intensely vivid lightning. At about eight o'clock, the house of Jonathan Brooks was struck, the lightning entering a chimney, and descending it in various directions. Mr. Brooks' only daughter, a very promising girl of fifteen, who was in a chamber near the chimney, was instantly killed. She was struck on her right temple, and the lightning ran down her right side badly burning her body. Mr. Brooks was in the room beneath that in which she was killed and was knocked down. Three others of the family who were near him also escaped

injury.

Source: Historic Storms of New England by Sidney Perley, 1891

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