Storm Damage Caused by Tornado
Updated 8:02 AM EST, Sun, Jun 28, 2009
Thousands of Connecticut residents are still in the dark Sunday and cleaning up the damage left behind by Friday's destructive storms.
The National Weather Service said some of the damage in one hard-hit town was the result of a tornado. The agency conducted ground and aerial surveys in Farmington and Wethersfield Saturday and concluded a tornado hit Wethersfield. Forecasters put the twister's strength at EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning it had winds of 85 mph to 100 mph.
The weather service said, however, that most of the damage in south Hartford County resulted from straight line winds.
The storms begin shortly before 2:00 p.m. Friday in the northwest corner of the state, and moved quickly bringing hail, heavy rains and strong wind gusts. The heaviest damage from the storm was seen in Farmington and Wethersfield, where the storms caused downed wires, road closures and severe damage to homes and property. Massive power outages where also caused by the storms. At the height of the storms, about 50,000 Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating customers without power.
- Heavy damage was reported in Farmington, especially along Route 4. Police closed all lanes between Brickyard Rd. and Route 167 due to numerous poles and wires being down.
- In East Haven, the roof of the police department was smoldering Friday evening, after being struck by lightning. As a result of the strike, police say that communication systems were down for about two hours and emergency calls had to be routed through a back channel.
- A downed tree caused lane closures along Putnam Bridge on the Glastonbury and Wethersfield town lines.
- Police say that Wethersfield sustained some of the heaviest damage due to the weather. On Ridge Road, a tree fell into a greenhouse. Another tree is also reported to have fallen through a home near the corner of Church and Garden Streets, causing significant damage to the home. There are numerous reports of downed wires including on Wolcott Hill Road.
- Police say a tree fell onto a house along Groveland Terrance in Newington, injuring the occupant of the home.
- Routes 66, 316 and 85 were closed due to downed trees and wires, but have since reopened.
- State Police report that Marlborough was hit particularly hard by the storm. According to police, trees and wires were down along many of the side roads in town and the areas of Jones Hollow Road and West Road saw significant damage.
Find out if more storms are in the forecast by clicking here.
First Published: Jun 26, 2009 8:26 PM EST
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