Community Corner

Tornado Watch Issued for Fairfield County & Elsewhere [Update]

The watch was issued at 1 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m.

Editor's note: For later coverage of this weather event, see ""

Update 4:58 p.m.:

A tornado touched down in Westfield, Mass., at about 4:31 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a Tornado Watch for Fairfield County in connection with the same cold front that passed over Westfield.

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The National Weather Service statement at 4:36 p.m. reported:

"At 4:31 p.m. EDT [Eastern Daylight Time], local law enforcement reported a tornado in Westfield in the Shaker Road area. At 4:35 p.m., a tornado was reported by amateur radio operators half a mile from Main Street in Springfield [MA] heading toward downtown Springfield. This is a very dangerous situation. This tornado was located near Springfield, moving east at 40 mph."

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(A National Weather Service satellite photo of weather activity at about the same time as the tornado or tornados showed significant activity in western Massachusetts. See picture attached to this article. The featured map, compared to the earlier satellite map, shows the progress of the cold front associated with the tornado.)

Update 2:36 p.m.:

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office issued this tweet on Twitter at 2:30 p.m.: "Gov Malloy & state agency officials are continuing to monitor possibility of severe weather in #CT throughout the afternoon & evening"

Update 2:16 p.m.:

Dick Aarons, Director of Ridgefield's Office of Emergency management, defined a tornado watch:

"A 'tornado watch' is issued when atmospheric conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of  producing tornadoes in and close to the watch area in the next 12 hours.

"A 'tornado warning' is issued when radar or human eyeballs spot a tornado.

"So, right now, the watch only means strong thunderstorms -- perhaps strong enough to produce a tornado -- are possible sometime during the watch period."

Update 1:47 p.m.:

The National Weather Service has revised its Tornado Watch, although the revision doesn't affect Fairfield County.

As of 1:06 p.m., the weather service warned that in Connecticut only Fairfield and New Haven counties would be affected. Now also warned are Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam counties north of New York City, all boroughs of New York City itself, Nassau County on Long Island and several counties in northern New Jersey.

Update 1:23 p.m.:

A Tornado Watch was issued by the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, at 1 p.m. for much of Connecticut, including all of Fairfield County, through 8 p.m.

The weather service "continues to place the tri-state area under a slight risk for severe thunderstorms today."

"This threat is in response to a cold front expected to move through the region," the NWS reports.

In Connecticut, the Tornado Watch was declared for Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties, essentially a swath running from the southwestern to northeastern corners of the state. Litchfield, Middlesex and New London counties were not part of the weather warning.

At 11:03 a.m.,  the weather service forecast "likely" showers and thunderstorms for Norwalk, mostly between 3 and 5 p.m. "Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds," the NWS meteorologists cautioned. Sun was expected to return soon, followed by mostly cloudy weather and a high temperature near 86 degrees. The chance of precipitation was put at 60 percent.

Rainfall of less than a tenth of an inch was expected, although thunderstorms could drop higher amounts. For the evening, possible showers and thunderstorms were predicted, but mostly before 7 p.m.

John Davisson contributed to this story.


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