Connecticut braces for winter storm
Heavy snowfall likely to affect holiday travel
The first significant winter storm of the season is expected to arrive about noon on Sunday, one of the busiest travel days of the year, creating the potential for dangerous driving conditions.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch, in effect from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning, for Hartford and Tolland counties.
Snow will likely spread over the state by lunchtime Sunday, and the snowfall will be heavy. By late afternoon or early evening, the snow will change over to a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow, said Rodney Chai, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Boston. That rain will continue into Monday, then change back over to snow Monday afternoon.
There could be 8 to 12 inches of snow overall in the northwest hills, 5 to 11 inches in Greater Hartford and 6 to 7 inches in eastern
Connecticut.
On-street parking bans began to be announced Saturday afternoon. In East Hartford the ban will begin at noon on Sunday and will remain in place until further notice. In Rocky Hill the ban will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday and remain in effect until 24 hours after the storm’s conclusion.
The Carousel Museum at Bushnell Park in Hartford announced that its Santa Sunday event has been canceled because of the storm.
Hartford city officials said Saturday that a decision to implement a parking ban hadn’t been made yet, but they urged residents to check local news and city social media for further updates early Sunday.
The city also announced that the Arroyo Center, 30 Pope Park Drive, would be opened as as warming center for 36 hours, beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
AAA is urging motorists to adjust their travel plans in light of the storm.
“Given the high volume of traffic expected at the end of the holiday weekend, AAA was already anticipating high call volume, but there is no doubt that the wintry weather will impact both the number of calls and the types of calls, so we are preparing accordingly,” says Amy Parmenter, spokesperson for AAA in Greater Hartford. “Now, we are encouraging motorists to prepare as well.”
Officials at Bradley International Airport are encouraging air travelers to contact their airline to see if their flight is delayed.
Dry and breezy weather is forecast for early Sunday, but conditions are going to quickly deteriorate as the storm system from the Midwest moves into southern New England.
Connecticut Department of Transportation crews have been pre-treating bridge surfaces and trouble spots, and will have crews ready to respond to clear roadways as necessary, said Kevin Nursick, a department spokesman.
Sunday’s storm comes on the heels of a large storm that buried Colorado and Wyoming in 3 feet of snow and moved into the Midwest just before Thanksgiving, wreaking havoc on Thanksgiving travel plans.