On Friday, August 10th, a strong cold front moved east across southern Connecticut during the afternoon hours, preceded and accompanied by several lines of strong to severe thunderstorms.  The cold front, separating oppressively hot and humid air with significantly cooler and drier air, combined with unstable atmospheric conditions to produce rapid and intense thunderstorm development during the early afternoon hours.  Strong wind gusts accompanied the thunderstorms, tearing trees down, which subsequently fell onto power lines and led to power outages.  Nearly 60,000 customers were affected by the power outages across southern Connecticut.  Fallen trees and large tree limbs blocked several roadways, and led to scattered road closures.  In New Haven County, a 2 foot diameter tree was uprooted in Wolcott, with many other trees having their tops sheared off due to strong winds.  Numerous reports of downed trees were also reported in Fairfield County, near Newtown.Large hail also accompanied some of these thunderstorms.  One inch diameter hail was reported in Fairfield County at Bethel, and dime size hail occurred in Norwalk.In addition to strong winds and hail, very heavy rain also accompanied these thunderstorms.  This led to several reports of flooding on area roadways and highways, particularly in the vicinity of Norwalk in Fairfield County.   Frequent cloud to ground lightning struck several buildings across southern Connecticut, and led to additional power outages.  One woman was injured when lightning struck an umbrella she was holding while walking in a parking lot in Milford.  She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries to her hand. A police officer was also injured while working at the dispatch center during the storm.  Lightning apparently struck a nearby radio tower or telephone pole, and traveled into the phone line.  The officer lost a significant amount of hearing in one ear, and it was unknown if the ear damage was permanent.  In Middlesex County, a barn located at the Friendly Acres Farm in Durham was destroyed when lightning struck the roof around 12:45 PM.  No injuries were reported.

Hail in FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 11:35:00 to 10-AUG-01 11:35:00 (EST)
Location: BETHEL
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Thunderstorm Wind in FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 12:25:00 to 10-AUG-01 12:25:00 (EST)
Location: NEWTOWN
Magnitude: 50 E
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Hail in FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 12:55:00 to 10-AUG-01 12:55:00 (EST)
Location: NORWALK
Magnitude: 0.75 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 11:55:00 to 10-AUG-01 11:55:00 (EST)
Location: WOLCOTT
Magnitude: 50 E
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in MIDDLESEX, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 12:30:00 to 10-AUG-01 12:30:00 (EST)
Location: MIDDLETOWN
Magnitude: 50 E
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 13:35:00 to 10-AUG-01 13:35:00 (EST)
Location: MILFORD
Magnitude: 50 E
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Lightning in NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 13:00:00 to 10-AUG-01 13:00:00 (EST)
Location: MILFORD
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning in FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 12:00:00 to 10-AUG-01 12:00:00 (EST)
Location: TRUMBULL
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning in MIDDLESEX, CONNECTICUT
From 10-AUG-01 11:45:00 to 10-AUG-01 11:45:00 (EST)
Location: DURHAM
Reported by: NEWSPAPER