EF1 Tornado — Fairfield, Connecticut

2010-06-24 · near Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut

Event narrative

An NWS Storm Survey determined that an EF-1 Tornado, with maximum winds of 110 mph, impacted a small portion of Bridgeport. The survey found many signs of wind rotation in a highly localized area just north of Interstate 95. The area was bounded by the Interstate 95 northbound connector on the west and Pembroke Street on the east. The most severe damage was concentrated along East Main Street between Nichols Street on the south and Cedar Street on the North. In this area, windows were blown in, the facade of a building was stripped off, tree tops were sheared off, and large pieces of metal blown off from surrounding structures were wrapped around a fire hydrant. Eyewitness reports described a rain wrapped tornado with visibility near zero in swirling heavy rain and debris. Note the damage estimate is just a portion of the total damage to Bridgeport.

Wider weather episode

A cold front and strong upper level trough moved across the Tri-State, triggering severe thunderstorms across Southwest Connecticut during the afternoon. This included both supercells and squall lines, producing an EF-1 Tornado in Bridgeport, and severe winds and hail across the remainder of the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.1810, -73.1816)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 242288. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.