11 N.H. towns were hit in Thursday's tornado

Unusual event traveled 40 miles, lasted 50 minutes

The tornado that hit central New Hampshire Thursday traveled 40 miles through 11 towns, creating a swath of destruction a third of a mile wide in some areas, and lifting off the ground to skip over others, the National Weather Service said yesterday after completing a review of the damage.

"Much of the damage across the state was trees down. Thousands and thousands of trees," said John Jensenius, warning- coordination meteorologist in the weather service's Gray, Maine office. "In some senses, when you look at the amount of damage from falling trees, we were very lucky."

One person was killed in the storm and several members of her family were injured when her house collapsed, but beyond that there were only a few injuries, said James C. Van Dongen, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Six to 12 other houses collapsed and about 200 were damaged, he said.

The tornado, generating winds as strong as 120 miles per hour, started in Deerfield, N.H., about noon Thursday and headed northeast through Epsom, Northwood, Pittsfield, Barnstead, Alton, New Durham, Wolfeboro, Ossipee, and Effingham before it tapered off in Freedom. The twister lasted approximately 50 to 55 minutes, Jensenius said.

Jensenius said he determined the storm's type and path primarily by looking at the damage to trees. One clue to the storm's strength was the fact that hardwood trees were snapped near the base of their trunks, he said.

On Friday the weather service confirmed tornado damage in nine towns and added two other towns, Pittsfield and Northwood, yesterday.

The tornado was the second to hit New England in two days. A tornado crossed from Rhode Island into Southeastern Massachusetts Wednesday, but did not cause major damage.

Three teams of federal and state workers continued to clean up damage in the New Hampshire towns yesterday, erecting new telephone poles and clearing trees mangled by the vicious winds. Family members, friends, volunteers, and neighbors pitched in to help people fix their homes.

Van Dongen said most families had been able to find shelter with friends or relatives and only two families had to stay in a Red Cross shelter overnight.

The Granite Chapter of the American Red Cross opened up a service center at the Fire Department in hard-hit Epsom today to help displaced families.

"After the service center today, we'll have a better idea of what everyone needs," said Rebecca Field, a Red Cross spokeswoman. "I was really impressed with how much resilience there is in the New England spirit."

Joanne Randall, a select- woman in Epsom, said people were "just happy to be alive," and it was "good to see a community pulling together."

Brenda J. Stevens, 57, of Deerfield was killed when her house collapsed. She was found in the rubble of her house near her stepson's 3-month-old son, who she had been holding when the tornado hit. The baby survived.