Glastonbury Damage Not Caused By Tornado
Residents in Glastonbury can't believe they'll be cleaning up for the third time in a year after a powerful storm Friday.
Jeff Saperstone & Dave Mulligan
A strong afternoon thunderstorm rolled through Glastonbury, leaving a path of downed trees and power lines in its path.
Experts from the National Weather Service touring Glastonbury Saturday determined it was not a tornado that caused damage throughout the town on Friday.
Town officials guided the tornado experts through areas of South Glastonbury which were hit the hardest. They assessed the damage on Wassuc Road, Homestead Drive and Fisher Hill Road among others.
The damage was caused by a microburst with winds that reached between 85-100 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service officials.
Glastonbury sustained extensive tree damage and power outages after powerful storms rolled through the state on Friday.
“There are wires down. Our crews are attending to them,” said the town’s Director of Emergency Management, Bobby Dibella.
Tree damage was a familiar sight across the town. For some, it’s becoming a little too common.
“It did a lot of damage in these neighborhoods,” said Lance Weir, a resident.
“This is just a routine now,” said Tony Hollister, who works in Glastonbury.
Hollister said he’ll never forget what it was like in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene and last October’s Nor’easter. Not only did those storms cause tree damage, they also left folks in the dark for days on end.
“The first one, [we] were out of power for five days, and then the blizzard, we were out seven days,” said Brian Conners.
For that, CL&P was criticized for taking too long to restore power. But the company said that won’t happen again.
“We’ve updated out processes, our procedures, the tools we use,” said Cl&P spokesman, Mitch Gross.
Conners said he learned his lesson last year, and invested in a generator.
“I feel a little safer, but then you still have to get gas for the generator. So, if there's no power at the stations, there's no gas for the generator,” said Conners.
For others without a backup power source, it may be lights out for a while.
“No power. I’m not expecting to see it anytime soon,” said Joe Mincarelli.
CL&P said they expect customers in hard-hit areas like Glastonbury to have their power restored by early evening Saturday.
The national weather service is planning to survey the damage Saturday morning.
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