Updated at 4:30pm to include information about a tornado the National Weather Service has confirmed in Massachusetts.
One day after a severe weather outbreak in New England, another round of potent thunderstorms moved across New England Saturday evening. Damage reports were very similar to what they were on Thursday, with straight-line wind damage, power outages, lightning and a tornado.
A strong cold front swept through New England in the evening. A severe weather outbreak was not as certain as it was on Thursday, and this event began very slowly, with most storms failing to reach severe status in the afternoon and early evening.
By 7pm, the storms began to pick up strength as they dropped through central Massachusetts and Connecticut. Just before 7:30pm, a tornado warning was issued for a rotating storm near Mansfield, Connecticut.
The rotation of the storm became more pronounced on radar by the minute, and by 7:40pm, the National Weather Service announced a radar-confirmed tornado near Chaplin, Connecticut. A radar-confirmed tornado occurs when there is a very strong signal of a tornado on radar, but an actual storm spotter on the ground has yet to visually confirm one in person.
The tornado dissipated before a trained storm spotter could verify it, but the National Weather Service did receive photo and video reports of the storm. The National Weather Service will be surveying damage from Chaplin to Killingly to determine details about this tornado, including strength.
Damage reports from the area, as well as across New England included many trees, branches and wires down from strong winds. About 22,000 customers lost power across New England yesterday evening, eclipsing the number seen during Thursday's outbreak.
Another tornado warning was issued just after 8:30pm for the area near Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This warning was canceled before its 9pm end time. The National Weather Service will be surveying this area as well. No tornado has been confirmed in this warning. The south shore and much of Cape Cod was under a large severe thunderstorm warning for hours yesterday evening.
UPDATE: An EF-1 tornado has been confirmed to have touched down near the Foxborough-Easton town line in Massachusetts. Maximum winds are estimated to be 105mph. This is the strongest tornado of the year to be confirmed in New England this year.
Flooding and lightning was also an issue with these storms. The Boston Metro area saw numerous flash floods. The city, and much of northeast Massachusetts were under a flash flood warning all evening long.
After two severe weather outbreaks in three days, the region will be getting a reprieve from the active weather. The air behind the cold front has settled in and will provide New England with cooler, comfortable air for much of this week with generally quiet weather through at least mid week.
Comments