Middletown Spared Brunt of T-storm

8:27 p.m.: NBC Connecticut meteorologist and reporter Darren Sweeney just let us know that we are "in the clear, just some heavy rain, gusty winds for #Middletown the heaviest went to your south."

The thunder, lightning and rain began to fall at just after 8 p.m. in Middletown. At 7:40 p.m., Bruce Driska, emergency operations director for Middletown, said the city's emergency operations center had been partially activated at 4:30 p.m. in city hall.

"Currently [the storm] is located 40 miles southwest of Southington, Berlin, Rocky Hill and moving east toward Middletown at 45 miles per hour," Driska said. The towns in the path include Middlefield and possibly parts of Durham.

"We're monitoring conditions to see if we need to do a full activation, but there are no current conditions in Middletown" that would warrant such action yet.

He advises residents to secure any items outdoors. "With excessively high wind gusts forecast — as high as 60 miles per hour — by the National Weather Service," Driska says, items in the yard could be blown away.

Follow the storm live by radar at WTNH here.

At 7 p.m., severe thunderstorm warnings were extended into Middlesex and New Haven counties, according to the National Weather Service, through 8:30 p.m.

Middletown is looking at potentially 60 mile-per-hour winds. "If you live in Middlesex County, it might be smart to get out there and bring in any outdoor furniture," Channel 3 WFSB Chief Meteorologist Bruce DePrest during a 7 p.m. weather alert.

Check back with Middletown Patch for up-to-the minute reports.

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