ROCKY HILL, CT (WFSB) -
Trees and wires have been brought down in communities across Connecticut as severe thunderstorms began pushing through the state on Friday afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for most of Connecticut as thunderstorms and heavy rain move across southern New England. The watch was initially in place until 9 p.m., but NWS officials canceled the watch several hours earlier.
The damage, however, had already been done.
The severe weather began pushing through the state on Friday afternoon, and thousands of people were left without power as a result. At the height of the storm, nearly 18,000 Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating customers were in the dark.
Roads in cities and towns across Connecticut also began to flood as heavy rain and strong thunderstorms moved into the area. Reports of flooding were made in areas such as Bridgeport, Fairfield, New Haven, Glastonbury and Middletown.
Several residents in Glastonbury said they were forced to take shelter in closets and basements as the severe thunderstorm, which was later upgraded to a tornado warning, pushed through the area.
Heavy rain and strong winds took down dozens of trees and power lines in Glastonbury, but no injuries were reported a result of the storm.
In Middletown, several reports of trees bringing down power lines were reported, and in one instance, a power line fell and began to burn in the front yard of a home.
CL&P officials are urging people to call police if a power line is down across a road or in front of a home or business, and to not approach it.
Even though the power line may look like it isn't live, it very well may be and could be extremely dangerous.
The storm also tore through Manchester where several reports of damage was reported after trees fell in the parking lot of Bob's Discount Furniture on Tolland Turnpike.
Cars were covered by limbs and branches, and some cars were even moved and spun around when the trees fell due to the strong winds.
In addition, employees and patrons who were inside Bob's during the storm said the strong winds blew open the doors to the building, and then sucked out ceiling tiles from inside, causing signs to fall and tiles to blow our the door and into the parking lot.
Tornado touches down on Long Island
The National Weather Service has already confirmed a tornado touched town on eastern Long Island during storms that uprooted trees and brought down power lines.
NWS officials said wind speeds of 85 mph were reported during the tornado that touched down near Great River, NY.
While no confirmed tornadoes have been reported in Connecticut, NWS officials will tour damage in the coming days to see if one may have dropped from the sky causing the widespread damage.
Click here to see viewer photos from the storm.
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Tree down across I-384 in Manchester
