Most of Connecticut escaped the most severe impacts of Tropical Storm Fay on Friday, but the storm still brought strong winds and heavy downpours to western parts of the state as it marched deeper inland late in the evening.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Connecticut coast and flash flood watches will remain in effect statewide until midday Saturday as forecasters warned of possible localized flooding as the bands of the storm impact New England.
Fay formed off the coast of North Carolina late Thursday afternoon and made landfall near Atlantic City on Friday afternoon as its reach began to bring heavy rain and wind gusts to parts of southwestern Connecticut.
Maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph at about 5 p.m. Friday with some higher wind gusts, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center dropped their predicted rainfall totals to about 2 to 4 inches for areas impacted by the storm. Locally heavier amounts could cause some flash flooding before the storm passes.
About 1.5 to 2 inches of rain was expected in the western half of the state and about 1 to 1.5 inches was forecast from the I-91 corridor to the east, according to weather service models.
High winds were expected to cause some damage to trees and power lines, but there were few reports of extensive damage Friday evening. Fewer than 1,000 customers were without power, mostly in small neighborhood clusters in parts of Fairfield County, Eversource reported.
“Additional weakening is expected tonight, especially after Fay moves farther inland,” the center said at 5 p.m. Friday. “Fay is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Saturday morning and dissipate on Sunday.”
Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.
