Swift Storm Packs Punch, Causing Emergencies

By Andrew Gorosko

A severe thunderstorm struck the town midday Tuesday, bringing with it hail, high winds, and torrential rain.

The thunderstorm that appeared suddenly from the west turned what had been a beautiful spring day into hellish weather conditions that prompted multiple storm-related emergency calls.

Rob Eisenson, a meteorologist at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, said that a cold front approaching from the west combined with suitable atmospheric conditions to produce a severe thunderstorm.

The storm, which intensified after it moved eastward from Newtown, produced golf ball-size hail in Naugatuck, he noted. Hail of such a size is rare in this area.

No tornado was reported as part of the intense storm, he said.

Mr Eisenson termed the situation “an isolated, very severe thunderstorm.”

Similarly, meteorologist Michael Silva of the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y., said that no tornado had been spotted as a result of the storm.

On May 16, an EF-1 tornado cut through sections of Newtown causing extensive damage.

According to the weather service, the storm on Tuesday moved from Bethel to Newtown and then to Naugatuck, Waterbury, and Wolcott.

At 12:13 pm Tuesday, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area based on radar scans, which indicated the storm was capable of producing large hail and winds exceeding 60 miles per hour.

Connecticut Light & Power Company spokesman Mitch Gross said that at the height of electrical outages at about 2:30 pm Tuesday, 89 CL&P customers in Newtown were without power due to electrical wires being brought down by the storm. Power was restored by that evening, he said.

Naugatuck, Prospect, Waterbury, and Southington also were hard hit by the storm, he said. Throughout the state, about 8,300 CL&P customers lost their electricity, he said.

Mr Gross termed the storm “a very quick moving…fast approaching” incident.

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead said, “It was pretty fierce…It was the hardest rain we’ve had in Newtown in a long time.”

An immense amount of water traveled down Church Hill Road leading into Sandy Hook Center, he said, noting that water on the road went over the tops of curbstones.

The very heavy rain posed difficult conditions for firefighters traveling to numerous fire calls during the storm, he said. 

At 12:33 pm, firefighters responded to the Rosen residence at 22 Riverside Road, where an apparent lightning strike caused damage in the basement. The home is next to the Sandy Hook Firehouse.

The lightning strike caused smoke conditions in the basement and the first floor. There were no injuries. That same lightning strike also damaged a computer and electronic equipment at the adjacent firehouse.

At 12:34 pm, a lighting strike was reported at 25 Church Hill Road, where lighting hit and damaged a chimney. There were no injuries. 

At 12:43 pm, a bolt of lightning struck a condominium at 30 St George Place in Walnut Tree Village on Walnut Tree Hill Road, Chief Halstead said. The lightning struck a cupola, broke a hole through the roof, and started a fire in the attic at the residence of Susan McLachlan, he said.

There were no injuries. The fire caused an estimated $20,000 damage, he said.

At 12:56 pm, firefighters responded to a motor vehicle accident in which an auto drove off Sugar Street and entered a rain-swollen brook near the police station, requiring the extrication of its two trapped, injured occupants (see related story).

At 1:02 pm, firefighters responded to Newtown Upholstery at 132 South Main Street, where an accidental fire involving electrical equipment caused the building to fill with smoke. There were no injuries.