Tropical storm Elsa has worked its way through the United States, but it did damage on the east coast. Also, Elsa began in the Caribbean, and there were questions if it would be a tropical storm or hurricane upon reaching the tip of Florida.
Elsa was a tropical storm when it hit Florida, but it was still devasting for the eastern portion of the United States. As a tropical storm, Elsa worked its way up the coast and still had significant strength when it reached Connecticut.
Connecticut was the latest state to feel the effects of the tropical storm. There are numerous power outages and flooding throughout the state.
Elsa Hits Connecticut
Tropical Storm Elsa traveled along the Atlantic Coast and hit Connecticut early Friday morning. Strong winds and heavy rains seized the state throughout the morning on Friday. Elsa was a fast-moving circuit, but this fact did not minimize the issues on the east coast.
Thousands of homes in the state lost power, and Eversource is still working to fix the issues. The worst part of the storm hit the eastern portion of Connecticut, so the power company has been keying on this region.
Heading into the storm, Governor Ned Lamont was questioned about contingency plans. On Thursday, he said, “This is about a year ago that Isaias hit us. I want you to know, Elsa should be much less severe, both in terms of wind and in terms of flood damage. I also want you to know, we better be a lot better prepared than last time.
Elsa was not as bad as Isaias, but it still caused issues that emergency crews are dealing with in the Nutmeg State. Lamont gave the typical tips for residents to charge their phones, gather food for four days, and check on neighbors.
Winds whipped from 39 to 57 mph, depending on the location in Connecticut. The average gusts were consistently averaging 30 mph.
Binney Park in Old Greenwich
Old Greenwich was devastated by the storm. It was one of the most significant trouble spots in the state because of the curving northeast path of Elsa.
The heavy rainfall in the Fairfield County town caused flooding in Binney Park in Greenwich. In Fairfield County, the total rainfall was 5.10 inches. This closed the town beaches for an entire day and shut down many homes and roads.
First Selectman Fred Camillo sent an email to residents following the storm providing an update and thanking the first responders who were working hard to fix storm issues.
He said, “We were fortunate that the heavy winds that were forecast did not materialize. Our first responders have been doing yeoman’s work in answering calls for downed trees and flooding.”
The Greenwich Fire Department received 52 calls from residents whose homes had four or more feet of flooding. Other problems that the fire department supported were damaging furnaces, electrical systems, and hot water heaters.
In Greenwich alone, there were 96 customers in the town without power which was up from 60 earlier in the day. However, Eversource handled the town’s issues quickly. The power company has been much better with Elsa than Isaias.
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