NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. — The National Weather Service has confirmed that four tornados are to blame for storm damage in Massachusets, Rhode Island, and Connecticut on Wednesday.
An NWS survey team found that storms touched down in four New England communities, Killingly, Connecticut, Glocester and Lincoln, Rhode Island, and North Attleboro, Massachusetts as a strong storm carved a path through southern New England Wednesday.
The tornados in Connecticut and Rhode Island were all categorized as EF-1 tornados, while the North Attleboro twister was deemed an EF-0.
The tornado touched the ground on Ellis Road in North Attleboro around 5:22 p.m., its 75-mile-per-hour winds lopping off the top of three trees. The twister only stayed on the ground for three minutes before dissipating. Homeowners described sheets of rain changing direction, the NWS reports.
As the storm system made its entry into New England through the Nutmeg State, the NWS says a tornado blew 100 miles per hour in the town of Killingly, CT around 4:00 p.m. The tornado removed shingles from a two-story home and snapped or uprooted trees near Cranberry Road and Ledge Road as it moved northeast, dissipating as it crossed the border into Foster, Rhode Island.
Around 20 minutes and less than 10 miles later, a tornado claimed 75 trees as it moved northeast through Glocester, Rhode Island. Wind gusts are estimated to blow 100mph as it moved northeast from Chopmist Hill Road (Route 102) to Bungy Road.
“Most notable, a small outbuilding, used as a bus stop shelter was blown away by the tornado with remnants littered west of the original location. Some pieces were found on a neighbor’s roof,” the NWS writes in the survey report.
At 5:05 p.m., a tornado formed near the North Central Airport in Lincoln, Rhode Island. While the survey team found video evidence of a funnel, no damage was located.
“Video provided by Lincoln Animal Control showed a thin tornado passing at the end of the facility`s driveway and twisting a large branch from a tree. The tornado moved northeast into a field of solar panels which uplifted two sections. From here, the tornado likely lifted before moving across Route 146 at Route 116 which was documented on a DOT camera,” says the NWS.
0 of 5
Videos obtained by Boston 25 showed ominous activity in the sky over multiple Rhode Island communities as the storms rolled through during the Wednesday evening commute.
The tornadic activity comes after wild weather produced torrential rain, flooding, and sinkholes earlier in the week.
The North Attleboro tornado is the second in the town in less than a month, Boston 25 Meteorologist Tucker Antico noted.
So far this summer, there have also been confirmed tornadoes in North Brookfield, Foxboro, Mattapoisett, Barnstable, Mansfield, Stoughton, Weymouth, and Dublin, New Hampshire.
New England is now bracing for the impacts of Hurricane Lee.
For the second time in less than a month (!!!) a tornado has been confirmed to have occurred in the town of North Attleboro.
— Tucker Antico (@tuckerweather) September 14, 2023
The odds of this are absolutely miniscule. The state of Massachusetts in its entirely only averages two per year!
130 PM Damage Survey Update | Survey team confirmed damage that took place in Killingly CT, Foster RI, Glocester RI, Lincoln RI & North Attleboro MA was tornadic. Team is still determining if it was a continuous path or separate touchdowns, a final EF-rating, path length & width.
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) September 14, 2023
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2023 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
