Storm damage shuts down Essex County roads

WESTPORT | A National Weather Service warned storm cell blew through Westport Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 30, part of a huge system that stretched from the Canadian border to Louisiana. Fierce wind twisted tree tops, sheared the tops off some large maples and blew several big trees down onto power lines here. The storm hit in Mineville around 4:15 as many people were preparing to head home from work. Howling winds roared through a deluge. The storm hit Westport within minutes, shutting down all traffic on Route 9/22 from Ryan Way to Washboard Way, according to information from Essex County Emergency Services. William Coats left work in Mineville as the storm started to subside. "The storm had already passed by," he said. "I figured Route 9 would be a better bet than Lincoln Pond Road to get to Elizabethtown." He found branches were down on Pilfershire Road, and got out to remove them, then went north on 9/22. "I didn't see much damage until I got to the south end of Dudley Road, there were bigger branches on the side of the road. At the north end of Dudley Road, there were several big pine trees off on the right-hand side of the road, and people coming north were flashing their lights." Around the curve by Windward Circle, there were trees in the road and a tractor-trailer stopped in the roadway. Coats said he didn't see any damage to homes. Route 9N from Elizabethtown to Westport was closed by county officials as well. Numerous roads in Moriah were shut down, with reports of a tree down on one house on Fisk Road, and a tree fallen on a parked vehicle. Storm impact in Moriah closed Furnace Road, Dugway Road, Breed Hill Road, Ensign Pond Road, Windy Hill Road, Fisk Road and Moriah Road, according to county officials. The Lake Shore Road in Essex was closed at 5:46 p.m. And Breed Hill Road in Crown Point was closed at 5:44 p.m. Additional storm cells in this system are expected to blow from the west through the region Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Storm damage shuts down Essex County roads

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