The National Weather Service confirmed that a water spout spotted in Vineyard Sound Monday morning came ashore in Woods Hole Monday as a weak tornado with winds of 60 to 65 miles per hour.
The water spout was sighted Monday morning, shortly after the weather service issued a tornado warning for parts of Dukes and Barnstable counties.
A tornado warning went out at 9:35 a.m. An emergency alert sent to mobile phones advised those near the heavy weather to take shelter immediately. Weather service meteorologists said the cell of extreme weather was first spotted near Aquinnah, moving northeast at 40 miles per hour.
Donald Benefit was operating a dredge in the Lake Tashmoo channel when he captured a video of the water spout.
“I watched it form, it came down and went right in front of the jetty, right in front of us,” Mr. Benefit said. “It was forming two fingers then they came together. It didn’t stay long, it wasn’t a giant one. I knew it was going to come, I could see the clouds. It was raining so hard.”
Both the ferries Island Home and Martha’s Vineyard were in transit at the time the water spout touched down, but were not affected.
Weather service meteorologists later issued a statement saying the tornado touched down in Woods Hole with a path about 10 yards wide, and then quickly dissipated.
There was only slight damage to property on the mainland and no one was hurt, according to the weather service.
Eyewitnesses at the Woods Hole Golf Club told the weather service that four large wooden chairs were lofted in the air, swirled around and thrown 500 feet away.
Two nearby weather stations recorded wind gusts of 56 miles per hour, and 65 miles per hour.
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