Line of Strong Storms Prompts Tornado Warning for Cape Cod

Motorists pull off Rt. 6 in Yarmouth as strong storms flooded roads Wednesday morning.

Motorists pull off Rt. 6 in Yarmouth as strong storms flooded roads Wednesday morning.

HYANNIS – The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning Wednesday morning for Barnstable County as a line of strong storms moved across Southeastern Massachusetts and onto Cape Cod.

The warning was issued at 8:53 a.m. and remained in effect until 9:30 a.m. There were no initial reports of a tornado touching down.

A line of heavy rain showers moved across Buzzards Bay and into the Falmouth area before spreading east toward Barnstable. The heavy rain flooded area roads, prompting drivers on Route 6 in the Yarmouth area to pull off road and into a rest area.

Kevin Morley with the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee said there were no reports of major damage from area towns.

Millway Beach in Barnstable after the storms passed Wednesday.

Millway Beach in Barnstable after the storms passed Wednesday.

“The rotational signature that triggered the tornado warning was fairly short-lived, so at the moment I think we’re just getting a summer downpour,” Morley said as the storm moved across the area.

Just before 9 a.m., the National Weather Service Doppler Radar indicated a severe squall line capable of producing a tornado as damaging straight line winds. At the time, the storm was moving northeast at 40 mph.

“Earlier this morning we were noting a strong thunderstorm across the Falmouth area that did have some winds that looked liked they were rotating, which is a signature that we look for on our radar for the possibility that a tornado may be developing within that storm,” said Eleanor Talbot with the National Weather Service.

“We monitor our radar very closely. We look at not just the what we call reflectivity, or what we see coming back, that tells us how strong the rain is, but within that we can see the winds within those areas of precipitation,” Talbot added

Morley said the threat passed quickly and was over by 9:30 a.m. “Just watch out for thunder and lightning, but in terms of tornadoes, as far as I’ve heard, that threat has seemed to diminish,” said Morley.

The forecast for the rest of Wednesday called for showers with the chance of a thunderstorm. The utility Eversource reported scattered outages across Cape Cod as the storms moved through the area.

7/1/15

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