Wednesday, June 1st, marks the fifth anniversary of the most powerful storm to strike Massachusetts in a half-century.
Armando Feliciano said it does not seem as if five years have passed since he hustled his family into the basement of their Springfield home and shielded them as a tornado sent trees crashing through the roof and walls.
"To this day, every time I open that door in my house, I say ' I remember this tornado' and I remember walking into my house that day," Feliciano said in an interview on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the tornado.
The tornado cut a six-mile long path of destruction through Springfield and continued east through a half-dozen towns causing heavy damage to portions of Wilbraham, Monson, and Brimfield. Three people were killed.
Most people, like Feliciano, rebuilt their homes. Tens of thousands of stately shade trees were lost for a generation.
