A tornado touched down in Norton during Tuesday’s storms

A tornado hit Norton, Mbad., on Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. The forecasters had said earlier that a twister had also torn through one, if not two, Rhode Island towns at around the same time.

“The National Weather Service . . . has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Norton MA yesterday. Additional survey work is ongoing to determine further details regarding this tornado,” forecasters said in a statement.

The weather service said earlier that a tornado that tore through Lincoln, R.I., on Tuesday afternoon may have badped up winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour, making it an EF1 tornado.

Weather service meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said at a news conference Wednesday morning in the town, “We came to the major area of damage first” and said the team would be moving on to survey damage in North Providence, R.I. “That’s next on our list.”

He said it was “highly likely” that the damage in North Providence, which is adjacent to Lincoln, was caused by the same tornado that hit Lincoln.

“We do think the damage in North Providence was from the same storm and was tornadic,” he said.

He said it was possible there had been multiple tornadoes, in Rhode Island and Mbadachusetts, Tuesday afternoon.

NWS meteorologists were also checking out reports of a waterspout (or a tornado over water) in Sandwich, Mbad., he said.

He said the tornado activity was “definitely unusual” for the time of year but “not unheard of.” Most tornadoes are seen in the area in July and August.

He said the forecasters knew there would be thunderstorms Tuesday, but the tornadoes were “a little bit unexpected.” He said there was “a little bit more going on yesterday” in the atmosphere than forecasters realized.

The tornadoes were spawned as powerful thunderstorms crashed through the region Tuesday afternoon, dumping rain, hurling hail, and badping up high winds that knocked down trees and wires.

In Lincoln, “everybody was in a panic in the streets,” the fire chief said after the twister ripped through a neighborhood.