Four separate tornadoes touched down in North Attleboro and parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut during a round of stormy weather that swept through the region Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed.
Officials released results of a damage survey Thursday evening after crews spent several hours examining the aftermath of Wednesday’s storms.
Of the tornadoes, the weather service said one traveled .07 miles through a rural part of North Attleboro near Ellis Road around 5:20 p.m., bringing winds between 65 and 75 miles per hour and causing some tree damage.
The National Weather Service rated the North Attleboro tornado as an EF-0.
Officials said a series of stronger tornadoes touched down in Rhode Island and Connecticut, with the first tornado, an EF-1, beginning its path in Killingly, Conn. around 4 p.m. The National Weather Service said the tornado stayed on the ground for 10 minutes, traveling just over 1.6 miles into Foster, Rhode Island with peak winds estimated at 100 miles per hour.
Officials said the Killingly/Foster tornado stripped shingles from a home between Cranberry Road and Ledge Road in Killingly and damaged several “healthy and mature trees” before ultimately dissipating in Foster.
Roughly five miles east of the spot where the Killingly/Foster tornado dissipated, in Gloucester, Rhode Island, the National Weather Service said another EF-1 tornado touched down in a wooded area between Chopmist Hill Road and Bungy Road, snapping or uprooting at least 75 trees and blowing away a small bus stop shelter over the course of a .21 mile path.
In Lincoln, Rhode Island, a third EF-1 tornado brought 100 mile per hour winds along a path beginning east of North Central State Airport and continuing just under .25 miles toward Route 146.
The National Weather Service said the Lincoln tornado uprooted at least one large tree and damaged a 20-foot by 30-foot section of a nearby building’s roof. A field of solar panels was also damaged.
Officials said multiple videos showed either a funnel cloud or a tornado itself moving through the area.
Stormy weather on Wednesday triggered multiple tornado warnings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
While survey team continued to work, the National Weather Service on Thursday afternoon initially confirmed damage in North Attleboro, Killingly, Foster, Gloucester and Lincoln was “tornadic” before announcing specific tornado touchdowns and ratings later in the day.