Taking severe weather alerts seriously

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Western Massachusetts saw more than its fair share of severe weather last year. We had a killer tornado, micro bursts and an unprecedented October snowstorm so this year people are taking severe weather warnings very seriously.

Ominous clouds used to be disregarded but that's no longer the case here in Western Massachusetts.

After the June 1st tornado that stretched nearly 40 miles, watches and warnings are taken seriously.

Gloria Boudreau of Springfield said, “It was definitely horrifying, it was something that was not expected to happen but it did and I guess now we really need to take things a little more serious.”

Brian Johnson of East Longmeadow said, “Usually they're like oh severe thunderstorms are coming but it never comes, but last year was really bad.”

That includes stocking up and preparing for potential power outages or worse. Seth Dihlmann, manager at Rocky’s Hardware said people are making sure they have the essentials. “Not to create a sense of panic but there's no reason why everyone shouldn't have a flashlight in the house even if you lose power for just a couple hours it's good to have that to navigate around in the dark,” said Dihlmann.

Last year when storms would hit generators would fly off the shelves and while they are in stock at Rocky's in East Longmeadow, generator sales over the last year have been up.

The store wasn't packed with people stocking up because many say they already have an emergency plan and kit in place.

“We do, we have what we need we have flashlights, batteries, we're well equipped this time.  We learned our lesson,” said Boudreau.