Mass. tornado chaser: Storm took state by surprise

A University of Massachusetts professor who has tracked tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas says New Englanders have a different attitude about twisters.

Stephen Frasier, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the university’s Amherst campus, says because tornadoes are relatively unusual in Massachusetts and because they rarely strike heavily populated areas, people have a more relaxed attitude.

He says many people were surprised by Wednesday’s fatal storms in the wider Springfield area.

He says most communities in Massachusetts don’t have siren warning systems and many people were taken by surprise. But he says people who heard sirens at UMass on Wednesday went outside to see what was going on.