Before yesterday's tornado struck Springfield, the western Massachusetts city of 150,000 was probably best known for being the birthplace of basketball and home to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But now Springfield is making national headlines because of the violent tornado that swept through the city Wednesday, killing four people and damaging numerous homes and buildings.
Forbes.com reports the folks in Springfield and surrounding towns are still reeling, especially because killer tornadoes are so very rare in that part of the country:
Governor Deval Patrick has called up 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to help with the clean up, according to the Department of Defense. The DoD reports 450 Guard troops are on the ground this morning.
Here's the story from the Pengaton Channel:
