Cleanup efforts are underway on Sunday morning after thunderstorms ripped through Connecticut on Saturday night. The aftermath caused widespread power outages, road closures, and golf ball sized hail for some.
Fire officials asked people to stay off the roads through the night. They said to be careful of unknown hazards, including blocked roadways, and traffic signals that could be completely out.
Sunday, according to Eversource and United Illuminating. Eversource customers. New Canaan had about 5,113 customers without power, followed by Torrington at 4,133.
Eversource said their crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power. They asked people to stay far away from any downed wires and to report them to 911 immediately.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation reported many road closures, including a tree down on South Main Street at Lincoln Avenue. Torrington. Fire officials said to treat traffic lights as a stop sign if they are out.
Channel 3 viewers sent in photos of massive hail, downed trees, and flaming power lines.
A diagonal line of storms from Salisbury at the New York line into Goshen, Torrington and Harwinton “hammered” the area on Saturday, casting most of those towns in the dark, according to Jonathan Barbagallo, a board member at Litchfield County Dispatch and public information officer in Norfolk.
The storms have inundated Litchfield County Dispatch with calls, prompting the activation of Task Force 83, to help the Torrington area cover all of the calls, Barbagallo said.
Harwinton issued an official declaration of emergency on Saturday night, and all emergency services and public works crews have been activated. Additional resources have been requested from the state, according to the town.
Farther to the east in Middletown, Marine 2 was responding on the Connecticut River at the Mattebassett River inlet for a boat taking on water with individuals hanging onto a bridge abutment, according to a Facebook post Saturday night by the Middletown Professional Firefighters Local 1073.
