Published June 2, 2011

This is June 10, 1953 Assumption College handout photo shows a wrecked car on the lawn of the tornado-ravaged college campus in Worcester, where three of the 94 people killed in the storm lost their lives. (AP)

Wednesday’s tornadoes, which left at least three people dead and caused catastrophic damage to parts of central and western Massachusetts, bring to memory the Bay State’s deadliest tornado.

The 1953 tornado exploded through Worcester and, as WBUR’s Bob Oakes described it, “consumed houses, and spat out their splinters.” Lasting a little more than an hour, the storm left 94 dead. The storm went down in history as one of Massachusetts’ worst, and has its own nickname: “the Worcester tornado.”

Oakes reflected on the carnage of the storm in 2003, marking the 50th anniversary of the storm:

This is June 10, 1953 Assumption College handout photo shows a wrecked car on the lawn of the tornado ravaged college campus in Worcester, where three of the 94 people killed in the storm lost their lives. (AP)

Related:

• Earlier: Deaths Reported After Tornadoes Hit Central, Western Mass.
• Raw AP Video: Tornado Touchdown In Springfield
• Eyewitness Accounts: ‘This Doesn’t Happen In Springfield’