EPSOM, N.H. -- A tornado was confirmed to have torn through four New Hampshire towns on Thursday, officials said Friday.

National Weather Service meteorologists said a tornado touched down in Deerfield, where it killed a woman in her home. It then moved to Epsom, Barnstead and Alton.

The NWS said that in two or three towns, it was an EF2 tornado, with winds of 111 to 135 mph. Experts were still examining the damage in New Durham and Effingham to determine if that was also caused by a tornado or powerful straight-line winds.

One person was killed in the storm when her house on Northwood Lake in Deerfield collapsed. Five other homes were destroyed and hundreds of others were damaged in the violent storms.

"The National Weather Service is going to continue that analysis all the way up to Alton and New Durham, but they have concluded and confirmed that it was a tornado in the Deerfield area," Gov. John Lynch said.

Two tornado warnings were issued, but it was unclear whether any tornadoes touched down until NWS investigators examined the damage.

Experts were planning to visit three areas that were heavily damaged in the storms, and their full conclusions have not yet been released. They started in Northwood and were moving northeast, up the path of the storm.

Lynch also toured the area and said he was shocked to see so much damage.

"The destruction is really unbelievable, not only here in Barnstead, but we just came from the Epsom-Deerfield area," Lynch said. People's homes have been destroyed, and their lives have been uprooted, and it's really sad to see."

Lynch commended the work of local emergency responders in getting to affected areas quickly to help people in need.

"The responders at the local level have done just a wonderful, wonderful job," Lynch said. It's because of them that the response has been so successful. Here in Barnstead, for example, there were 150 homes damaged and no injuries, and it's because of the work done at the local level."

The NWS said that damage in some areas could be a combination of a tornado and straight-line wind damage.

Map shows spot tornado touched down in Deerfield and location of the Stevens home: