Heavy rains, lightning leads to closed and washed out roads in northeastern CT

Storms dumped heavy rain on saturated ground in some parts of the state, creating flooding while many other towns stayed dry.

TOLLAND COUNTY, Conn. — Thunderstorms crossed northern Connecticut on Saturday afternoon, flooding streets and washing out roads in Tolland and Windham Counties. 

In Ashford, the town said that Rt 44 from Rte 74 to Rte 89 is closed “due to extreme flooding and roads breaking up. Rt 89 north and south of 44 is barely passable due to flooding.”

In Tolland, parts of Route 74 were closed due to live wires down across the road. Numerous lightning strikes had the fire department responding to alarms and small fires, but no major damage from lightning was reported. But small streams and rivers, swollen from Tropical Storm Elsa last week and several days of rainy weather this week, overflowed their banks and flooded area roads in Tolland, Pomfret, and other towns. 

As of 7am,  the state DOT website listed the following closures. 

• AVON – RT 177 CLOSED THORNWOOD LN because of Debris (In Roadway).
• ASHFORD – Route 44 CLOSED between Route 74 and Route 89 because of Emergency Road Work (Washout). 

 There were about 1,000 Eversource customers without power. 

The northeastern counties weren’t the only ones that saw effects from the storms, as several streets in the Oakville section of Watertown were also flooded after storms passed over. 

But it was Tolland and Windham counties that are bearing the brunt of the weather’s effects, with as many as 2,600 Eversource customers without power in the afternoon.  By 9 p.m.the outages had dropped to 1600, generally concentrated in the towns of Ashford, Willington, Coventry and Tolland.  

We’ll have the latest on today’s weather, and tomorrow’s forecast, right after the Yankees-Red Sox game.

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This post was written by Hetala Bay