The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
STORM PACKS A PUNCH
Second nor’easter in a week blankets area
TORRINGTON — A nor’easter brought snow to northwestern Connecticut on Wednesday, prompting local officials to spring into action — while young people, freed from school for the day, took the opportunity to go outside and play.
As the snow fell heavily around 3 p.m., a small contingent of Torrington children were at Major Besse Park, while adults supervised from the comfort of their warm cars.
Kaleb Casteel, Connor Bennett, Matteo D’Aniello and Keith Lleras joked with one another as they played tag on the park’s jungle gym, racing around in the snow, while Richard Klug, 13, and Luke Cunliffe, 9, went sledding.
The light-hearted scene at the park was in contrast with the serious forecast issued by
the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service forecast Torrington could receive around 17 inches of snow before 7 p.m. Thursday.
Winsted implemented a parking ban, barring drivers from parking on streets from noon Wednesday through 4 p.m. Friday.
Winsted Town Manager Robert Geiger said town trucks were spreading sand and salt as needed, and addressing higher elevations. “This is not anything unusual for public works (in) a March snowstorm,” Geiger said.
No significant issues were reported as of 6 p.m., according to Winchester police.
Winsted schools Superintendent Melony BradyShanley said no decision had been made on closing schools on Thursday.
“Snow timing, amount, and cleanup efforts will all play into the decision for tomorrow,” she said. “At this point, I would say that decision will not be made until the early morning.”
School closing notices had not been posted by Wednesday evening on websites for Torrington Public Schools, Region 1 or Region 10.
Winsted’s Civil Preparedness Director Steve Williams classified the emergency as “minor” in a report submitted around 3 p.m. Roads in town remained “open and passable,” he said.
The Torrington Police Department issued a parking ban through 6 a.m. Thursday. “We ask that all residents follow this restriction so the Public Works Department can keep the streets clear,” Torrington police Lt. Bart Barown III said in a news release.
Torrington Emergency Management Director Rick Dalla Valle said Wednesday evening things were going pretty well in the city, and emergency protocols had not been set into motion. The main standard for whether to start the emergency management process is power outages, he said — for example, if 20 to 25 percent of the city is without power, it’s a problem. Blocked roads are an issue.
“As long as people have power and they’re safe at home, then there’s no real issues that can’t be handled by ... (public works crews),” Dalla Valle said.
As of around 6 p.m., Litchfield County Dispatch reported no major traffic accidents during the storm. A few drivers had slid off of the road, a dispatcher said as of 2:30 p.m. A tractor trailer was reported to have slid off Greenwoods Road in Norfolk earlier in the day. No injuries were reported. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a release nonessential state employees were sent home early at staggered times and directed second-shift workers not to come in. The governor banned tractor trailers from state highways at the request of New York state officials.
“As roads continue to deteriorate and out of an abundance of caution, we are putting a tractor trailer ban in effect until further notice,” Malloy said. “There are substantial concerns about driver safety and we need to keep the roads as clear as possible. Again, we are advising that folks stay home unless absolutely critical tonight.”
As of 6 p.m., the Albany branch of the National Weather Service said another 6 to 10 inches of snow could fall before tapering off overnight.