Tornado confirmed in Mass. town during Saturday’s powerful storm

A radar-confirmed tornado touched down near Worcester during Saturday’s storm, the National Weather Service said, while much of the region experienced severe thunderstorms.

The tornado was confirmed in Holden, NWS said Sunday morning; the agency will postpone the damage survey until Monday due to the weather. The survey will confirm the tornado’s path length, path width, severity, as well as damage.

A storm system put much of the East Coast from Baltimore to northern Maine under a severe thunderstorm watch. The NWS watch area, which indicated threats of tornadoes, hail, and strong wind, covered almost all of Massachusetts.

Parts of northwestern Massachusetts, near Springfield and Westfield, in and around Worcester, and around Marlborough were also issued tornado warnings Saturday.

The tornado watch was extended as far east as Stow, but didn’t reach closer to the Boston area.  

Crews handled fallen electrical lines and other damage in Paxton outside Worcester, in Holyoke in the Springfield area, and other communities. The fire department in Paxton said fallen trees impacted electrical service and caused the basement of a home to fill with smoke. Several homes experienced damage from trees and other debris, but no one was injured.

Multiple roads were blocked and power was out in much of Holyoke, and officials urged residents to stay home.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.