Tornado Damage in Wethersfield, Connecticut
July 10, 2009
Photographer: Phil Dombrowski
Summary Author: Phil Dombrowski; Jim Foster
On June 26, 2009, the appropriately named town of Wethersfield, Connecticut (about 6 miles or 10 km south of Hartford) was slammed by a tornado. This twister carved a path 1.7 miles (3 km) long between 4:50 p.m. and 4:53 p. m. Eastern Daylight time. The U.S. National Weather Service confirmed that this was an EF (Enhanced Fujita scale) 1 tornado, with winds near 100 mph (160 km/h). Though there was some structural damage to buildings and a number of trees were downed by the vicious winds there were thankfully no fatalities. Of all the reported damage caused by this twister perhaps the quirkiest was the mangling of the cross high atop the steeple of the Corpus Christi Church. Note that the cross at the back of the church was unscathed by the powerful winds as were the roof of the church and adjacent trees. As testimony to the concentration of the fiercest winds within a tornado’s narrow track, nearby Brainard Airport, about 5 miles (8km) to the northeast of the church, recorded a peak gust of only 35 mph (km/h) at the same time the tornado plowed through Wethersfield.
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