National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Ripped Greenwich and Stamford

An EF-0  tornado cut a swath through backcountry Greenwich and north Stamford Monday morning, wreaking havoc with trees, utility poles, and generally leaving a leafy mess behind.

According to Dan Warzoha, Greenwich’s emergency management director, National Weather Service personnel confirmed Tuesday morning that the cell of rain and winds reaching close to 100 mph was indeed an EF-0 tornado.

“The actual path starts at 790 North Street, runs across about 2 ½ miles zig-zaggety, to Stanwich Road, Stag Lane, Carrington Drive and then lifted up and then touched back down on the city of Stamford,” Warzoha explained. In Stamford, the tornado ripped across northern parts of the Long Ridge section of the city and June Road, Warzoha said. This all happened within minutes about 10:45 a.m. July 1.

“There were a lot of trees, poles, wires, transformers and fences” damaged, according to Warzoha.

Given the damage, the Town of Greenwich submitted a formal request asking the National Weather Service to verify the storm was indeed a tornado.

On Tuesday, the smell of fresh cut wood and pine, and the sounds of chain saws and wood chippers, permeated the evening air. Branches, limbs, and debris from downed wires and utility poles lined several streets in backcountry Greenwich. Maple, pine and chestnut trees, snapped in half, lay akimbo, along the roadsides with some branches impaled into lawns softened by the drenching rains.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Dannel signed a Declaration of Civil Preparedness Emergency to assist the state and its municipalities with debris removal from the tornadoes and severe weather in East Windsor, Greenwich, Stamford, Windsor and Windsor Locks.

The declaration allows the state to assist with debris and wreckage removal that may threaten public health or safety from publicly or privately owned land, according to the statement.

Malloy said, “While yesterday’s tornadoes in Hartford County and Fairfield County caused property damage, we are most of all grateful that no lives were lost during these flash storms.  This declaration will help the residents in the impacted towns to expedite debris removal.” 

Warzoha said  the town had crews from its trees, parks and recreation and public works department working throughout the day and night Monday to remove debris to allow utility crews to restore power and telephone service to the several hundred customers affected by outages caused by downed trees. The crews will return to finish the cleanup.

“We are lucky there were no injuries to civilians and workers,” Warzoha said.

He added, “CL&P (Connecticut Light & Power) had a lot of boots on the ground with private contractors setting new poles. They had more than adequate coverage, getting the power back by 2 a.m. (Tuesday) is pretty damned good.”

*If you have photos of damage from the tornado, you can upload it in the comments section or by posting in the boards section here.