Massachusetts โCommunities Recover After Five Tornadoes Touch Down
BERLIN, MA – September 7, 2025 – โMultiple Massachusetts towns are assessingโค damage following the โฃconfirmation of five EF1 tornadoes thatโ struck on Saturday, September 6, 2025. The National Weather Service (NWS) survey team identified touchdowns in Paxton, holden, Berlin, and Stow.โฃ
Damage was primarily limited to uprooted trees, and thankfully, no injuries or fatalitiesโค have been reported. The NWS estimates peak winds reached โ100-104 mph acrossโ the five separate tornado paths.
In Berlin, resident Steve Dennis described the tornado’s path asโข aligning with a โforecast he’d heard. “the guy from the weather bureau, he was telling us that these things traveled usually in the north – they go northeast,” Dennis said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, โwell that’sโฃ north, โthat’s east. And there it โขis going โคnortheast.’ Just โlike the guy said.” Dennis โคreported minimal damage to his property, noting only downed trees and displaced recycling barrels, and remarkably, his decorative reindeer โremained โintact.
Town officials were quick โคto respond. “We weren’t actually expecting one. But we knew โthe thunderstorm was coming โขthrough and it started offโ just about 4:30, like every other โขstorm dose, where we โhad some wiresโ down,” saidโ Berlin Fireโค Chief Michael McQuillen. “Quickly โฃthings changed asโข theโ crews started โresponding.”โ
Chief McQuillen and Town Administrator Kristen Rubin utilized an emergency response drone to survey the damage. Rubin stated, “We started surveying the damage and it was โขlike nothing that I had ever seen before;โค except on television.So, the one positive aspect appeared โto โคbe that much of it was in the woods.”
emergency crews from Berlin, including fire, police, EMS, and the highway department, along with mutual aidโ from โboylston, have been โworkingโ to restoreโฃ power and assess infrastructure. McQuillen noted the potential for further damage โfrom weakened trees, stating, “There’s a lot of cases out there where a tree fell in one direction, where it fell to the left, and if it hadn’t fallen to the โright, it reallyโฃ would have destroyed a house.It would have crushed โคa house with people โinside.”
Dennis echoed aโ sentiment sharedโ by manyโ residents, โsaying, “Plunked itselfโ right here.โค But I โguess all of us feel lucky that the buildings all made it intact.”
Fire Chief McQuillen isโข urging residents to inspect trees for loose, hanging branches that could pose a future hazard.