I mean 50mph winds against foliated trees will take them down for sure. In addition to what Tip said, we seemed to have a downslope event in these areas. The lower elevations on the west side of ORH hiils into the CT valley all had some decent damage. Unlike winter events that have strong LLJs as well, we didn't have a cold airmass to work with. The cold air allows for the stable wedge to form and therefore prevents mixing.
I think even in the industry, that is catching on. The H5 anomalies are a better prognosticator of surface departures vs actual model surface temp departures.
I think this probably becomes more of a confirmation bias. IOW, if one did not get much out of it, they probably get tired of reading or hearing about it. That doesn't diminish the event though. It was a significant event for many from CT to ME.
I expected more to mix at that point as 65kts was over my fanny. It took that sling shot meso to pull the trigger. Otherwise, it would have been just 40-50 stuff.