Suspected tornado shatters largest city in Conn.

[babylonsister]

Suspected tornado shatters largest city in Conn.
AP


By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writer


BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – A suspected tornado tore through Connecticut's largest city Thursday, toppling trees and power lines and collapsing several buildings as a powerful line of storms swept across parts of the Northeast. Remarkably, no serious injuries were reported.

Hundreds of bricks shook loose from buildings, trees split in half and crushed cars, and a billboard hung precariously several stories up over Main Street. Nine buildings were partially or fully collapsed, including three on East Main Street that were brought to their foundations. Rescuers searched the rubble to ensure no one had been inside.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch declared a state of emergency after the fast-moving system of driving rain and wind gusts that reached 78 miles per hour in the area.

Jacqueline Arroyo, 44, said she saw a black cloud and ran inside to her third-floor apartment, where the window exploded. Trees were blown so ferociously they appeared to be coming out of the ground, and people were screaming, she said.

"All the wind started coming inside the house. I heard 'boom, boom!'" she said. "It was so fast but terrifying."

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_re_us/us_severe_weather

[JuniperLea]

1. Weird...

I don't recall ever hearing of torandoes in that area.

[Warpy]

3. They're rare but not unheard of

Tornadoes happen in every single state in the US, not just Tornado Alley.

One just west of Boston in 1953 used to be marked every year by articles in The Boston Globe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint%E2%80%93Worcester_tornado_outbreak_sequence

[JuniperLea]

7. Thanks, Warpy...

Good intell there.

[NutmegYankee]

16. Rare, but they do occur.

Three tornadoes in 1989 infamously wiped out the Cathedral Pines, which was New England's largest stand of old-growth white pine and hemlock. Some of them still stand, but it was a sad loss for the state.

[monmouth]

2. This, on top of an earthquake in Canada yesterday. Something is

going on up there.. Hope all are well...

[JuniperLea]

4. Where are the aftershocks?

That size quake should have had at least half a dozen aftershocks by now, and not a one is showing up on the map.

I sent an email to the USGS asking this question after I re-read their explanation on aftershocks. I live in So Cal... tracking EQs and their aftershocks is sort of a freakish hobby of mine.

It's kind of creepy that there were none. We had a big quake on Easter Sunday, and we've had hundreds of aftershocks since then. I don't expect that many form the Canadian quake, but there should be a few anyway!

[Angry Dragon]

8. First you attack Santa and then you have freakish hobbies

[JuniperLea]

9. Hahaha!

You're onto me. But what does it all mean, Basil?

[JuniperLea]

10. Check it out! It's freakin' freaky, man!

Look at that damn Canadian quake... sitting up there all by itself with no little quakes around it! Sheesh! Elitist!

[Angry Dragon]

12. Perhaps the after shocks are setting themselves up

for a larger one.

Waiting for the G20 to start..give them something to talk about and scare their little butts

[Angry Dragon]

13. dupe

[NashVegas]

14. Northeast Quakes Often Don't Have Aftershocks, I Think

Not worth mentioning, anyway. The fault area up in Quebec, and Blue Mountain Lake, occasionally goes off a little but I never recall aftershocks being felt, spoken of or written about much at all. Most of the time it would only be a 2.5-3.5 and that would be it.

[Maru Kitteh]

6. Oh dear.

You do understand that earthquakes and tornadoes are not related, right?

[Angry Dragon]

5. The Gods are angry

[zbdent]

11. Sorry that I caused all this ...

Ya see, I was doing some programming at home ... and a glitch in my program took out Touchdown Jesus ...

there's a bit in the programming language where a period (.) signifies a subroutine. Unfortunately, due to a typographical error, when I ran it, the subroutine ended prematurely.

Some people just don't realize how much you can freak out when you miss your period ...

[GeorgeGist]

15. puff piece