Massachusetts

EF-1 Tornado Touched Down in Connecticut Wednesday, NWS Confirms

It skipped from Coventry, through a golf club, across Route 44 and finally in a cornfield in Mansfield

A tornado touched down in northeast Connecticut Wednesday when severe thunderstorms rolled through the area, the National Weather Service confirmed after an investigation.

The EF-1 twister struck in Tolland County around 5:45 p.m., with winds as fast as 85-90 mph, the NWS said Thursday. It traveled a total of about 3.2 miles over several touchdowns with a maximum width of 50 yards.

No one was hurt as it skipped from Coventry, through a golf club, across Route 44 and finally in a cornfield in Mansfield.

There was minor damage to a building, a sign blown over at a day care facility, but trees were damaged. In addition to wind damage, quarter-size hail fell in the area.

The tornado touched amid a series of tornado warnings issued for parts of northern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts Wednesday afternoon as intense storms rolled through New England.

The first warning was issued shortly before 5 p.m. for parts of Connecticut and western Massachusetts. Two subsequent warnings were issued for Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties in Connecticut, with the final warning expiring around 6:15 p.m.

Bradley International Airport temporarily issued a ground stop as the severe weather moved through.

Some communities in Connecticut are still cleaning up a mess of downed trees and wires. About 2,000 customers lost power as a result of the storm, Eversource reported.

Gary Boutwell lives in the Rockville section of Vernon, which sustained a fair amount of damage.

"All of a sudden we started seeing the rotation," he said, describing the storm.

Zachary Chrzanowski said he was home nearby when the dark clouds arrived and lightning jolted the neighborhood.

"I came outside, as you can see behind us, I turned around and lightning struck the tree," he said.

Town officials also said there was a house fire that appeared to have been the result of a lightning strike.

No injuries were reported.

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