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December 1, 2006

High winds could damage property, knock out power

Strong winds this morning that are only expected to get stronger throughout the day threaten damage throughout southern New England.

Western Massachusetts and western Connecticut are likely to be the worst hit areas as the huge storm in Ohio moves closer to this region, according to Glenn Field, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.

Tracking the storms throughout the country, the weather service this morning issued a special statement saying it cannot rule out the unusual possibility of a tornado today – quite late in the season.

“Even an isolated tornado or two cannot be ruled out,” the National Weather Service reported. “This is a potentially dangerous situation and people in southern New England should monitor later statements on this developing weather situation.”

Southern New England can get one to three tornadoes a year, but in the summertime, typically, Field said. The last big tornado that occurred late in the tornado season was Oct. 3, 1979, just north of Hartford, Conn., he said.

With winds expected to reach 70 miles per hour about 1,000 feet off the ground by this afternoon, thunderstorms and even rain showers can bring those winds down to ground level at 50 to 60 miles per hour, Field said. More than the chance of a tornado, people should really focus on those winds.

“The majority of the threat for today is damaging winds,” he said. “We don’t want to emphasize a tornado because that’s an outside possibility.”

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson  at 10:03 AM | Permalink

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