Tornado activity: Somerville-area historical tornado activity is near Massachusetts state average.It is 43% smaller than the overall U.S. average.. On 6/9/1953, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 22.2 miles away from the Somerville city center killed 90 people and injured 1228 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages.