Winter storm blasts state, making roads treacherous
Connecticut State Police report 764 calls for service, including 161 vehicle crashes
Numerous schools were closed across Connecticut, multiple flights were canceled and hundreds of motor vehicle crashes were reported as a nor’easter made its way through southern New England on Tuesday and dumped several inches of snow in much of the state.
Snow started falling in the early-morning hours and lingered into the early afternoon, with a winter storm warning that was in place until 6 p.m. for southern portions of the state, according to the National Weather Service. In Hartford County a storm warning was downgraded early Tuesday to a winter weather advisory that remained in effect until 7 p.m.
Snowfall totals varied widely across Connecticut, with many cities and towns in the southern part of the state reporting totals that ranged anywhere between a half-inch up to as many as 6 inches or more. Areas like Farmington, Southington and Bristol reported anywhere from 11 to as many as 15 inches of snow.
Hundreds of schools across Connecticut closed in anticipation of the storm, including those in Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Berlin, Bloomfield, Bristol, Cromwell, Glastonbury and a number of other towns and cities. Many municipal offices also were closed.
Late Monday Gov. Ned Lamont announced a ban on all tandem tractor-trailers and empty tractor-trailers on all limited-access highways that went into effect at midnight and was lifted at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Lamont also closed the state’s executive branch office buildings to the public ahead of the storm
and told all level 2 executive branch employees to stay home and work remotely if possible. Level 1 state employees were expected to report to work as usual.
Connecticut State Police said troopers across the state responded to 764 calls for service between midnight and 1 p.m., including 161 crashes. Eight of those crashes involved injuries, none of which was believed to be serious, state police said.
Troopers also responded to 123 calls involving “motorist assists,” which included spinouts, disabled vehicles and other incidents.
According to city officials, police in Meriden reported a “very high” number of calls for assistance during the storm-related to crashes and stranded motorists. Meriden police Chief Roberto Rosado and Public Works director John Lawlor pleaded with residents to stay off the roads as public works employees plowed.
Meriden city officials also reminded residents anyone in violation of the emergency parking ban put in place were at risk of being ticketed and towed.
According to the Connecticut Airport Authority, about 11% of Tuesday’s flights at Bradley International Airport were canceled and about 6% were delayed because of the storm. These flights were primarily scheduled for the late-morning and midday hours.
The majority of early-morning departures operated on schedule, a spokesperson for the authority said. The airport authority also warned in the early afternoon hours that additional cancellations or delays would be possible into Wednesday.
“Passengers are advised to check with their airline to confirm the status of their flight before heading to the airport,” an authority spokesperson said.
Avelo Airlines ahead of the storm announced all of its flights to and from Tweed New Haven Airport on Tuesday would be delayed until Wednesday.
“Customers affected by this delay are being contacted through emails,” a spokesperson for the airline said. “Customers should keep an eye on their Avelo emails and our website, aveloair.com, for updates.”
Eversource just after 2 p.m. reported that 1,639 customers were without power in the state. The energy company — which serves a little over 1.3 million customers in Connecticut — said this included 195 customers in East Haddam, 349 in Westport and 78 in Weston.
United Illuminating — which serves just under 355,000 customers in the state — reported 71 customers without power just before 2 p.m., including 33 customers in Easton and 37 in Fairfield.
The American Red Cross announced Tuesday that the storm led to all blood drives in Connecticut being canceled, which included 16 blood donation locations and over 425 scheduled appointments. The cancellations came as the Red Cross has reported the worst nationwide blood shortage seen in the last 20 years.
The Red Cross urged eligible donors of all blood types — especially type O — to give blood or platelets following the storm. Appointments to give blood can be made by visiting Redcrossblood.org, downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.