Wilbraham damage caused by microburst

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - We now know that it was a microburst that touched down Tuesday afternoon in Wilbraham.

On June 1, there was no question what it was that touched down that afternoon. So many people saw the tornado move right through downtown Springfield and through many other communities as well.

But with the storms on Tuesday, it wasn't as clear cut. There were numerous reports of people seeing what might have been funnel clouds and rotation in the clouds. But if that funnel doesn't make it to the ground we don't officially have a tornado.

It is not uncommon, though, to have a storm that produces straight line winds or a microburst instead of a tornado, or sometimes along with a tornado.

People 22News talked had mixed feeling about if one is more dangerous than the other.

“The tornado seems much more damaging. It seems to tear up everything in it's path and leave a distinct path,” said Amy Williams of Huntington.

“It's just as dangerous, they can call it whatever they want to call it, a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, anything; it doesn't matter, it's all dangerous,” Delores Ojunga-Andrew of Springfield said.

Straight line winds are winds that are not associated with any rotation. The National Weather Service has confirmed that it was a Microburst with straight line winds of around 100 mph that did hit Wilbraham. The winds in Chicopee were estimated between 55 and 65 mph.