Summer Extremes - Tornadoes

(WTNH) - Tornadoes are a fierce and destructive force. Connecticut's experience with twisters is a volatile one. But if you think they are just an anomaly here think again.

June 2010, a tornado made a brief but destructive touchdown in downtown Bridgeport, forcing a state of emergency.

"This one was on the stronger side and it did cause some damage and i think that was why people were like 'wow, a tornado touched down'," Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Steve Villanueva said. "And it happened to be a really busy season because it wasn't the only tornado to touch down on Connecticut that season.

A month later another tornado hit four communities including the city of Bristol. It's a scene that has played out almost yearly in Connecticut, a fact that some may find surprising.

"We live in a mini 'tornado alley' here," Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Dr. Mel Goldstein said. "It extends from Western Massachusetts right down to Central Connecticut.

"Maybe we will see three to five in a season and they won't reach the 'Dorothy' intensity all the time," Dr. Mel said, referring to the classic scene in "The Wizard of Oz."

But why? What attracts this type of weather phenomena?

"A collision course of air masses," Villanueva said.

Cold heavy air coming down from Canada, warm, moist air rising up to meet it. Thunderstorms create more instability. Then add wind to the equation, coming in at different levels and directions in the atmosphere, and you have the makings of a twister.

"When they do happen here you can obviously get tornadoes, but you never get those massive tornado outbreaks that you find in the central part of the country," Villanueva said.

Like the ones that hit just a few weeks ago in the Southeast. 340 people died after a record 312 twisters touched down in a single day.

"It really is a phenomena just for that region," Villanueva said. "You don't really find that anywhere else on the planet. It's really just a U.S. phenomena -- tornadoes."

In Connecticut, most of the tornadoes that strike are relatively weak, but there are two in recent memory that broke that mold.

On July 10th, 1989, a cluster of tornadoes touched down in two counties. First in the area of Cornwall and Bantam, then another one in Watertown and Waterbury, injuring 70.

"There was one, maybe a second one, then it dissipated then it built up again," Dr. Mel said.

A half-hour or so later Hamden was hit. A strong tornado cut a five mile track through town.

"It hit the Newhall section of Hamden in a huge way, and just by the grace of God it lifted up as it passed over Downtown New Haven," Dr. Mel said.

But it didn't spare the hundreds of structures in Hamden that were destroyed or the dozens of people it injured.

"Debris was flying all over the place, the trees were whipping around, whipping around, and it was an unbelievable sight," Dr. Mel said.

It was one of the worst tornadoes in Connecticut history, but not as bad as the one from October 3rd, 1979, which hit Windsor, Windsor Locks and Suffield.

"It was surprising in the sense it was so intense," Dr. Mel said.

This tornado took apart homes and schools within seconds and tore through the Air Museum at Bradley International Airport with ease, causing more than $200 million dollars in damage.

Three people lost their lives, another 500 were injured, yet another reminder of the deadly turn tornadoes can take.

"We only get a handful a year and they are not nearly as intense as we sometimes get," Dr. Mel said, "but when we get it even a small tornado is enough to cause incredible damage."

Going back even further in history is the Wallingford Tornado of 1978, which struck on Aug. 9th of that year. 34 people were killed, making this the deadliest tornado to hit Connecticut.