Parts of Mass. under tornado watch

Parts of western Massachusetts are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The affected areas include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties.

The weather service announced the tornado watch at X just before 1:30 p.m. Friday, saying “a couple of tornadoes [are] possible.” The area could also experience isolated hail of up to half an inch and wind gusts up to 65 mph, according to the NWS.

The NWS also issued a tornado watch for parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. The announcement came as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby moved up the East Coast toward New England.

A tornado watch means a tornado is possible, while a tornado warning means a tornado is “occurring or imminent,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The agency urged people in the tornado watch zone to “stay alert and be ready to take shelter.” If the tornado watch is upgraded to a tornado warning, FEMA advises people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.

According to the NWS Boston office, August 9 has a local history of tornado activity. On August 9, 1972, three tornadoes – two F-1s and one F-2 – struck Wilbraham, Templeton, Winchendon, Needham, Newton and Brookline.

Almost a century earlier, on August 9, 1878, the second deadliest tornado in New England struck Wallingford, Connecticut.