PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOSTON/NORTON MA
1018 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2021
...NWS DAMAGE REPORT FOR JULY 18 2021 TORNADO IN SOMERS CONNECTICUT...
START LOCATION...SOMERS IN TOLLAND COUNTY CT
END LOCATION...SOMERS IN TOLLAND COUNTY CT
DATE...JULY 18 2021
ESTIMATED TIME...611 TO 618 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF0
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...75 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...1.9 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...41.9758/-72.4474
ENDING LAT/LON...41.9997/-72.4292
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0
...SUMMARY...
A WEAK TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN THIS EVENING IN THE TOWN OF SOMERS IN
NORTHERN TOLLAND COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS
FOLLOWED UP ON A TIP FROM A TRAINED SKYWARN WEATHER SPOTTER VIA
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEN UNCOVERED MANY REPORTS. WE THEN SPOKE WITH
SOMERS FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS, AN EYEWITNESS WHO OBSERVED THE
TORNADO, AND VIEWED SEVERAL VIDEOS ONLINE. THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION SUMMARIZES ALL OF THESE REPORTS.
THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON COLONIAL DRIVE, THEN TRACKED TO THE
NORTH-NORTHEAST, IMPACTING LAKE DRIVE JUST SOUTH OF SHADY LAKE,
KIBEE DRIVE, A PORTION OF MAIN STREET (ROUTE 190), BATTLE STREET,
AND ENDED IN THE VICINITY OF HICKORY HILL DRIVE. THIS IS A PATH
LENGTH OF 1.9 MILES. THE APPROXIMATE PATH WIDTH WAS 75 YARDS.
DAMAGE PHOTOS LED TO ESTIMATES OF MAXIUMUM WIND SPEEDS OF 75 TO 80
MPH, WHICH PUTS THIS ON THE MID TO UPPER END OF THE EF0 CATEGORY
OF THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. THE TIME, BASED ON RADAR, FIRE
DEPARTMENT LOGS, AND AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, WAS FROM 611 PM TO
618 PM EDT.
SEVERAL LARGE PINE TREES WERE DOWNED ON COLONIAL DRIVE AND TWO CARS
WERE DESTROYED BY THE FALLING TREES. APPROXIMATELY 19 TREES WERE
SNAPPED, TWISTED, AND UPROOTED ON LAKE DRIVE. A RESIDENT OF LAKE
DRIVE HEARD A LOUD WHIRRING NOISE AND OBSERVED THE TOPS OF TREES
FLYING BY THE HOUSE. SHINGLES WERE MISSING ON A HOUSE NEXT DOOR.
A PLAYSCAPE WAS LIFTED UP AND LANDED APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET AWAY.
ON MAIN STREET, A SMALL CORNER OF A ROOF WAS EXPOSED WITH ADDITIONAL
DAMAGE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE GUTTER. FARTHER TO THE NORTHEAST,
A FEW LARGE OAK TREES WERE SNAPPED ON HICKORY HILL DRIVE.
THIS STORM WAS LOW-TOPPED AND DID NOT POSSESS ANY LIGHTNING...ONLY
HEAVY RAIN. HOWEVER, ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS...HIGH HUMIDITY AND JUST
ENOUGH WIND SHEAR ALOFT...WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE THIS
ISOLATED SPIN-UP.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD AGAIN LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE
PEOPLE WHO FORWARDED THE INFORMATION AND TOOK THE TIME TO DETAIL
THEIR ACCOUNTS.
