Thunderstorms on Thursday caused minor damage in Holyoke, Chicopee and Northampton, but there was no tornado despite reports of a funnel cloud in the area.
Twitter user Jon Gaines reported seeing a funnel cloud in Westfield, according to Masslive.com.
National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Thompson said if the cloud had been dangerous, it would have been investigated further.
Often, there can be confusion regarding the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado. This particular cloud didn’t have a tight rotation, Thompson said, and it hadn’t touched down, so it wasn’t threatening.
“I think we were seeing a little bit of rotation, which doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a tornado,” Thompson said. “Many severe storms have a rotating updraft.”
Funnel clouds are fairly common, Thompson said, but often do not reach the ground to become a tornado.
Thompson said the thunderstorms knocked over some trees and wires in Holyoke and Chicopee. In Northampton, there were some wires down on South Street, he said.
“It still wasn’t anything too tremendous … but there was certainly some localized wind damage,” Thompson said.