Tornado, Microbursts Confirmed In New Haven County

NEW HAVEN COUNTY — The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado and several microbursts were responsible for the damage from Thursday's severe weather.

The impacted communities include: Bethany, Hamden, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, North Branford and Guilford, according to the weather service. Three tornado warnings were issued on Thursday, two in Litchfield County and one in New Haven County.

Severe thunderstorms warnings were issued for most of the state Thursday as power was knocked out to more than 70,000 people. Power was restored to most customers except in Branford, where at least 95 percent of homes and businesses were left without power. Branford was hardest-hit community from a power outage standpoint.

An EF1 tornado was confirmed to have hit Bethany, Hamden and North Haven at 3:53 p.m. The maximum wind speed was 110 mph and the tornado traveled 11.1 miles. There were no injuries reported, the weather service said.

EF1 tornadoes have 86-110 mph wind speeds. The strongest classification, EF5, is designated for tornadoes with 200+ mph wind speeds.

Here is what the National Weather Service wrote about the tornado:

Based on a National Weather Service damage survey done in conjunction with Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and local CT town emergency managements, it has been determined that a strong EF1 tornado, with maximum wind speed of 110 mph, tracked southeast from Bethany to North Haven.

The tornado first touched down in a forested area to the southeast of Judd Hill Road in Bethany. The tornado tracked southeast over primarily forested areas from Amity Road, to Munson Road toward Litchfield Turnpike, creating a path of damage about 75 yards wide, with hardwood tree damage consistent with wind speeds of 80 to 90 mph.

The path of damage widened to around 300 yards as the tornado tracked southeast toward Lake Bethany. Structural damage, including significant roof damage to several homes, and snapped hardwood trees indicated wind speeds of around 100 mph in this area.

The tornado path continued southeast for another 4 miles to near the town center of Hamden, with tree and structural damage indicative of wind speeds of 70 to 80 mph. The intensity picked up significantly as the tornado approached the center of Hamden, as evidenced by extensive damage to numerous buildings, including the flat roof of a two-story building across from Hamden Town Hall being torn apart. Wind speeds are estimated to be around 100 mph based on the damage to these buildings, bent metal fencing around town hall, and uprooted and snapped trees.

The tornado reached maximum strength and width from this point on as it continued southeast across Wilbur Cross Parkway, Interstate 91, and down to the intersection of Arrowdale and Thompson Street in North Haven. Tremendous hardwood tree damage and structural damage was indicative of wind speeds of 110 mph and an expanded width of 500 yards. It is at this point that the tornado appears to have dissipated with its destructive straight line winds fanning out to the coast.

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Multiple microbursts affect East Haven, Branford, North Branford, Guilford and North Haven:

This weather event occurred from 4:03 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. and 90-100 mph wind gusts were recorded.

Here is the summary of the severe weather:

Based on a National Weather Service damage survey done in conjunction with CT Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and local CT town emergency managements, it has been determined that numerous localized microbursts with estimated winds speeds of 90 to 100 mph and path widths as much as one half mile fanned out along the New Haven coast from East Haven to Guilford.

The microbursts began where the upstream EF1 tornado dissipated, in the far southeast corner of North Haven, and then swept down to the coast in multiple spots. The prevailing pattern was numerous hardwood trees being uprooted or trunks snapped, as well as numerous utility poles and wires downed or snapped, and some accompanying structural damage.

In Guilford, moderate tree damage was observed on Dromara Road, as well as Old Quarry Road, where a car was crushed. In North Branford, moderate to heavy tree damage was observed on Sunset Road, Oak Hill Drive, Brook Road, and Virginia Road areas. 18 homes in this area were heavily damaged as well.

In Branford, heavy tree damage was observed in the Laurel Hill and Piscitello Drive areas. Heavy tree damage with a house destroyed was observed at Victor Hill. Several more homes were heavily damaged, with a few of the hardest hit areas of town still not accessible.

Finally, in East Haven, there were several pockets of heavy tree and structural damage in the Foxon area, with several homes being struck by trees. The East Haven High School Football field was severely damaged by the straight line winds, with grandstand bleachers flipped over and the astro-turf peeled off the field.

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