NWS confirms tornado tore through parts of Rhode Island Wednesday night. What to know.

PROVIDENCE − The National Weather Service has confirmed that powerful storms that ripped through Rhode Island late Wednesday night spawned a tornado.

The weather service said the tornado traveled through Lincoln and Cumberland and North Attleborough, Massachusetts along a path 4.3 miles long and with 100 mph maximum winds, making it an EF-1.

Many residents were left without power Thursday morning.

Damage was reported in Providence, Pawtucket, East Providence, Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, North Smithfield and Glocester, according to the National Weather Service.

"We had quite a bit of damage, especially in north, north-central Rhode Island," said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts.

How many people lost power because of the storm?

As of 10:05 a.m. Rhode Island Energy's outage map showed 179 outages, affecting 8,632 customers. All of the outages appear to be in the northern half of the state, with the furthest south being Bristol.

Governor Dan McKee said on social media that his office had been in touch with Rhode Island Energy, which said it was bringing in extra crews to restore service.

The storm was fast and violent with much of the damage reported between 11:12 and 11:25 p.m.

The weather service issued severe thunderstorm warnings Wednesday night. "This destructive storm will contain wind gusts to 80 MPH!," the weather service said on X.

Damage was also reported in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Trees and wires were knocked down in several places, with trees blocking streets in some neighborhoods.

The damage kept public works, police and fire departments busy. "Several trees came down in the Lime Rock and Lonsdale areas," the town of Lincoln said on Facebook. "Lincoln DPW, Lincoln PD, and our Fire Departments have been out working hard for several hours. We are working on clearing roadways and assessing damage."

What caused the storms?

The National Weather Service is sending a team to survey damage today and determine whether the storm may have spawned a tornado in Cumberland, according to Williams. Radar indicated rotating winds consistent with a tornado, but meteorologists need to take a close look at the damage to confirm whether it was a tornado, Williams said.

The thunderstorms were triggered by a cold front that moved across the region, Williams said.

On Thursday morning, he said, "We're in the clear for now." The next chance of rain isn't until late Saturday.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: NWS confirms tornado tore through parts of Rhode Island Wednesday night. What to know.