The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
At least one death linked to storm
Eversource worker killed by falling tree in city
A winter storm has been linked to a least one death in the state and left thousands without power, closed roads, and canceled airline flights — and there might be more chaos to come, officials said.
The National Weather Service reported that Monday is expected to be partly sunny and cold, with a high near 14. Wind chill values are forecast to be between -10 and -15. Wind is also supposed to be a problem, with gusts as high as 47 miles per hour.
The problems started Saturday night, with a snowfall that turned into slush by Sunday
morning. Rainfall and frigid temperatures led to icy conditions throughout the day. This led to a variety of problems, including massive power outages. At one point, there were close to 30,000 people without power. Staff from Eversource and United Illuminating both reported trying to remedy the outages, but, for Eversource, the attempt to restore power took a tragic turn Sunday afternoon.
A subcontractor for the company was killed in Middletown by a falling tree, around 3:15 p.m., while the worker was repairing a line on Millbrook Road.
Falling trees were a reality throughout the state, and many police and fire officials took to social media to warn residents.
“Use caution due to multiple wires and trees down throughout town,” White Hills Fire Department in Shelton posted on its Facebook page. “Do not try to pass the danger and caution tape!”
North Haven police also posted concerns on Facebook. “While roads may appear clear for travel, rain and ice has put heavy weight on tree limbs and utility lines,” police said their page.
Traveling by air was also difficult, as Bradley Airport in Hartford announced Sunday that roughly 43 percent of
flights going into and out of the airport had been canceled.
“The airlines are continuing to adjust their schedules and are working on returning back to their normal flight operations (Monday). However, there may be some residual delays,” read an email from the airport.
Real time flight status updates are available on the Bradley website, www.flybdl.org.
Businesses and municipal services also were affected by the storm. In Bridgeport, the Beardsley Zoo was closed Sunday, and a post on its Facebook page said the zoo could open late Monday due to the chilly temps. Meanwhile, Seymour Town Hall tweeted Sunday evening that trash pick up would be delayed a day, likely due to weather, though that wasn’t explicitly stated in the tweet.
With weather expected to remain cold at least through Tuesday, many towns and cities opened warming centers, where people could go to defrost, and, in some cases, sleep, get and shower and take of other basic needs. A full list of the warming centers is available at the United Way’s Connecticut 211 web site.