Tornadoes Leave Path of Destruction in Connecticut
When one thinks of places in the United States getting hit by tornadoes, New England usually does not come to mind. But on Thursday, it was Connecticut’s turn to get hit as a cluster of thunderstorms produced two tornado touchdowns in the state. The first touchdown was an EF0 tornado in the small town of Kent, CT, near the New York State line.
But a short time later, the storms produced a stronger EF1 tornado in the northern suburbs of New Haven. The tornado was on the ground for 11.1 miles, which was the longest track of a tornado in the state of Connecticut since 1979, and caused extensive damage in the towns of Bethany, Hamden, and North Haven.
Source: NBC Connecticut
Even as the tornado weakened and eventually lifted, it produced straight line winds of up to 100 mph further to the southeast, over the towns of East Haven, Branford, North Branford, and Guilford. Damage in those areas was comparable to that seen in the areas directly hit by the tornado. At the height of the storms, over 48,000 customers in the state were without electricity.
Fortunately for the storm-ravaged areas, no severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for the foreseeable future.
