Eversource: Restoration Estimates Uncertain For North-Central CT

NORTH-CENTRAL, CT — A storm that ripped through north-central Connecticut Wednesday night left a path of downed tress and wires in several towns and residual wind gusts left officials at Eversource Energy saying Thursday it would be "premature" to offer an estmate regarding when power could be fully restored.

Winds gusts during the height of the storm were stronger than 50 mph.

A path from Manchester to Enfield seemed to be the hardest hit in the region. According to an Eversource map, as of late Thursday morning, power outages, in terms of customers, were:

• Somers: 2,768
• Vernon: 1,754
• South Windsor: 1,191
• Ellington: 822
• Manchester: 564
• Tolland: 427

An Eversourse staffer making the rounds in Vernon Center mid-Thursday morning said full restoration could spill into Friday for the area. Eversource spokesman Frank Poirot backed that up with the explanation that strong wind gusts were creating "new damage" in the area well into Thursday and to estimate when power would be fully restored to the area would be "premature."

The trail of damage included:

• Fences ripped were out and a portion of Route 30 closed in Vernon, though businesses on that Road and on Route 83 were mostly open by the morning commute. Areas with "mature trees" were the heardest hit, Poirot said.
• Heavy rain and high winds overnight resulted in several roadways blocked due to downed trees in Manchester. Most roads were open Thursday morning open and Porter and Woodbridge Streets were partially blocked by downed power lines.
• In Tolland, South River Road was closed between Route 74 and Woodhenge Drive because of a tree on the wires. Wires were down and burning on Old Stafford Rd between Crossen Drive and Amanda Way. On Browns Bridge road, a transformer exploded.
• For a time in South Windsor, Route 5 southbound at Strong Road was closed from Strong Road to Glendale Road for a downed tree and wires. Route 5 Southbound from Glendale the East Hartford line was "passable" at the morning commute.
• In Enfield, during the stom, a pickup truck slammed into a small freestanding apartment on Route 5.

(Tolland Alert)

Schools were closed in Vernon, South Windsor Somers and Ellington on Thursday and Enfield had a two-hour delay.