Severe weather sweeps through the state

Update: By noon Friday Connecticut Light & Power reported just under 2,000 outages.

(WTNH) -- Thousands lost power Thursday evening when a severe storm swept across the state.

The whole state braced for severe weather earlier in the day, as every county was under the threat of either high winds, damaging thunderstorms, or a flash flooding.

It was rumored to happen all day, and Thursday afternoon, a tornado watch was issued for Litchfield County until 9 p.m. Then around 4 p.m. a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for the rest of the state until 11 p.m. Thursday night.

• Click here for tips on how to prepare for a tornado.

In light of the watch and the threat of other severe weather, Governor Dannel Malloy partially activated the state's Emergency Operations Center to monitor the situation.
 
"After assessing the situation with emergency management officials, I have directed a partial activation of the EOC beginning at 3:30 today," he said. "This will allow us to better coordinate with municipalities and state agencies, and respond quickly should we have power outages or other damage from these potential storms. I encourage Connecticut residents to closely monitor weather conditions throughout the day and evening, and take proper precautions to stay safe."

All the storm warnings were taken down just before 9 p.m.

Storm Team 8 meteorologists predicted that lower Litchfield, Fairfield and New Haven Counties would have the greatest potential to see damaging thunderstorms , while a flash flood watch was issued for Hartford, Tolland and Windham Counties.

When the storm finally arrived it reeked havoc across the state; the greatest of which could be found in Fairfield county.  The storm caused an elderly housing complex in Danbury to lose power for hours, tore down trees and power lines, and caused thousands to lose power.

As of 11 p.m., approximately 11,000 CL&P customers and 4,000 UI customers were without power across the state.