StormTracker

Severe storms cause damage in Connecticut, 3 injured by lightning strike at Travelers Championship

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A line of severe thunderstorms moved through Connecticut Saturday afternoon and triggered a tornado warning for a period of time.

The tornado warning was issued for Hartford and Tolland counties around 3:30 p.m. The warning expired at 4:15 p.m.

The storms moved in to northern Connecticut and moved southeast, taking down trees and powerlines throughout the afternoon. Eversource was reporting thousands of customers without power on Saturday evening. Power appears to have been restored to a large majority of those customers.

The thunderstorms brought heavy rain, vivid lightning, strong winds, and even dropped ping pong ball-sized hail in some towns. At one point, there were more than 200 lightning strikes within a 15-minute period.

It was the second day in a row that severe weather caused damage in the state. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Harwinton on Friday. The storms also led to a weather delay at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell for a second consecutive day.

Three people were injured following lightings strikes in Cromwell, according to the town's fire department. Fire officials say a tree was struck by lighting and injured 3 people nearby.

Cromwell FD says two of the patients were treated by first responders and taken to the hospital, while the third victim refused treatment.

Cromwell's town manager had said the lightning strike occurred at the Travelers Championship.

There is the possibility of severe weather on Sunday as well, according to the NBC Connecticut StormTracker team of meteorologists.

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