An EF0 tornado struck North Haven, Connecticut, Wednesday amid powerful thunderstorms that caused outages throughout parts of the state. A second EF0 tornado struck Mattituck, New York on Long Island with winds of 70 mph. The second tornado caused mainly tree damage.
“A pair of rotating storms moved through Connecticut and Long Island sound around the 1 p.m. hour and caused an EF0 tornado near North Haven,” said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles. “The other storm likely caused a waterspout over Long Island Sound and that later became a weak tornado on eastern Long Island.”
“There are trees and power lines down, and several homes have been damaged due to the weather,” the North Haven Police Department wrote on its Facebook. “We anticipate extended power outages as the United Illuminating Company is working to safely restore service.”
The occupants of a home damaged by the storm on Middletown Avenue are reportedly uninjured, according to FOX61. A tree was downed onto the house and the cars in the driveway.
Residents in the area told WSFB.com that the high winds only lasted a few minutes and that it sounded like a bomb went off in the area with the trees being uprooted.
“I just heard a loud ‘bang.’ That’s it,” resident Edgar Rosado told WSFB. “This all happened … in a matter of seconds. Next second, clear skies.”
Caridad Damiani told NBC Connecticut that she was driving south on I-91 near the North Haven exit when she saw a large dark cloud.
“I wasn’t even sure what it was at first until I could see gusts of wind throwing around signs,” she said. Within seconds, the twister was above her as she drove through it.
“It’s amazing how quickly they move,” she added. “The force of the wind was so strong it did shove me around on the highway.”
A power line was knocked over onto Route 202 by East Main Street and lightning struck a transformer, knocking out power to 500 Eversource Energy customers, the Hartford Courant reports.
The North Haven police have asked that residents remain home for their safety and the safety of emergency crews.
By: Ada Carr, Published: Aug 10 2016 11:00 PM EDT
Photo: By North Haven Fire Department/Twitter “A tree downed by storms in New Haven, Connecticut, collapsed on top of a home on Aug. 10, 2016”
