Vernon, Mansfield and Coventry were all hard-hit, with hundreds of people without power immediately following the storms.
Some communities are cleaning up a mess of downed trees and wires after severe storms moved through Connecticut Wednesday.
The storms were so strong they prompted tornado warnings in Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties.
There were reports of hail in Tolland county.
Bradley International Airport issued a ground stop as the severe weather moved through. It has since been lifted.
As of 11 p.m., Eversource was reporting 1,488 outages, the majority in Vernon and Mansfield. Vernon police confirmed they responded to reports of downed trees and wires, particularly in Rockville.
Photo of storm damage in Rockville. pic.twitter.com/dGLRM0xyna
— Vernon CT Police (@VernonCTPolice) September 4, 2019
Gary Boutwell lives in the Rockville section of town which took a good hit.
“Then all of a sudden we started seeing the rotation," he said, describing the storm.
STORRS—Tornado Warning: If outdoors, seek shelter immediately. If inside, stay where you are. Avoid windows and doors. https://t.co/SDLynYj7NK
— UConn (@UConn) September 4, 2019
Zachary Chrzanowski said he was home nearby when the dark clouds arrived and vivid lightning jolted the neighborhood.
“I came outside, as you can see behind us, I turn around and lightning struck the tree," Chrzanowski said.
“We have a house fire that looks like it was a lightning strike," explained Mayor Dan Champagne.
Champagne said thankfully the fire was minor and no major problems were reported in town.
No one was injured.
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It was a similar scene in Coventry on North River Road.
"By the time we came back up it was no trees, trees uprooted. Our awning in our deck was destroyed," said resident Kim Terwilliger.
Young Ryan Calhoun listened to the storm wreak havoc.
"We got home it started downpouring and then it just got really windy, my mom’s like get in the basement," he said.
These storms were unrelated to Hurricane Dorian.
