Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Connecticut, July 1, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Connecticut, July 1, 2001
Start: 2001-07-01T16:10
End: 2001-07-01T16:49
Location: Connecticut

July 1, 2001 · NWS OKX · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.

On Sunday, July 1st, a strong cold front approached southern Connecticut from the northwest during the late afternoon hours. As this front clashed with a warm, moist and very unstable air mass already in place, strong to locally severe thunderstorms developed and moved east-southeast across portions of southern Connecticut. Damaging winds in excess of 50 mph caused numerous large trees to topple, and led to widespread power outages. Fallen trees also caused several road closures.These thunderstorms were also accompanied by frequent cloud to ground lightning strikes. At the River Dale Campgrounds in Clinton, lightning struck a 14 year-old female from Deep River and a 17 year-old male from Clinton. Both were taken to the Middlesex Medical Center Shoreline Hospital in Essex, where their injuries were treated.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 1, 1:30 PM EST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 1:30 PM EST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
230 PM EDT SUN JUL 1 2001

A STRONG UPPER TROF WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST TONIGHT AND THEN
MOVE ACROSS THE CANADIAN MARITIMES ON MONDAY. THE FLOW WILL THEN
BECOME ZONAL LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. AT THE SURFACE...A COLD
FRONT WILL MOVE OFF THE COAST TONIGHT PRECEDED AND ACCOMPANIED BY
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS. SOME OF THE TSTMS MAY BE SEVERE. MUCH
DRIER AND COOLER AIR WILL SPREAD OVER THE REGION LATE TONIGHT AND
MONDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND MOVE
OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST ON TUESDAY. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL
APPROACH FROM THE WEST ON WEDNESDAY BRINGING A THREAT OF SHOWERS.
TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASONAL LEVELS FOR THE
NEXT FEW DAYS. A SCA WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR STRONG WINDS TONIGHT
INTO EARLY MONDAY.

.OKX...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...ANZ350-353-355-330-335-338.

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 1, 12:15 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
115 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2001

...DAMAGE REPORT FROM EARLY TODAY...

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 AM    SOUTHAMPTON               NY   WIND DAMAGE
07/01/01   SUFFOLK                        SEVERAL LARGE TREES
                                          KNOCKED DOWN
                                          (TIME APPROX)

Local storm report, Jul 1, 2:59 PM EST, 1 hour 11 minutes before

NYCLSRNYC 000
TTAA00 KNYC DDHHMM

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
359 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0645 PM    NEWTOWN                   CT   WIND DAMAGE
06/30/01   FAIRFIELD                      2 TREES DOWN...WIRES DOWN

0720 PM    SEYMOUR                   CT   WIND DAMAGE
06/30/01   NEW HAVEN                      TREE LIMBS AND TREE DOWN

0725 PM    SHELTON                   CT   WIND DAMAGE
06/30/01   FAIRFIELD                      TREE LIMBS DOWN...SEVERAL
                                          HOUSES STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

0725 PM    ANSONIA                   CT   WIND DAMAGE
06/30/01   NEW HAVEN                      TREE LIMBS AND TREE DOWN

0100 AM    HAMPTON BAYS              NY   TORNADO
07/01/01   SUFFOLK                        THUNDERSTORMS CAUSED
                                          DAMAGE IN HAMPTON BAYS,
                                          ACROSS PARTS OF
                                          SOUTHAMPTON, WATERMILL,
                                          AND BRIDGEHAMPTON.

0200 AM    SOUTHAMPTON               NY   WIND DAMAGE
07/01/01   SUFFOLK                        SEVERAL LARGE TREES
                                          KNOCKED DOWN

The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:11 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, New Haven

When: July 1, 4:10 PM EST
Where: New Haven County, Guilford
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.283, -72.683

Thunderstorm Wind, Middlesex

When: July 1, 4:15 PM EST to 4:30 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Killingworth
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.350, -72.567

Lightning, Middlesex

When: July 1, 4:15 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Clinton
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.451, -72.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, New London

When: July 1, 4:49 PM EST
Where: New London County, Ledyard Center
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.433, -72.017

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Connecticut in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Connecticut, July 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5259369, 5259370, 5259372, 5259371.