Monday’s powerful winter storm dumped 2 feet of snow on parts of Connecticut, shutting down schools, leaving thousands without power and making travel treacherous across the state.
Several school districts will be closed for a second day Tuesday.
It was a "blockbuster blizzard,” the National Weather Service said.
An emergency order prohibiting commercial vehicle travel expired Monday afternoon, but Gov. Ned Lamont was urging motorists to be careful as plows continue to clear highways and roads in coming days.
“While the worst part of the storm has passed, lingering snowfall remains and it is going to take some time for plow crews to fully clear the roads," Lamont said in a statement.
State Police say they responded to hundreds of calls for assistance from drivers during the height of the storm, as well as several crashes involving tractor-trailer drivers who did not heed the ban on commercial travel.
“The more we can keep everybody home and hunkered down for the storm, the easier it’ll be for our emergency responders to respond to those emergency calls," William Turner, the state emergency management director, said Monday afternoon.
Cities along the shoreline in southeastern Connecticut were reporting the most snow in the state. As of Monday afternoon, North Stonington reported more than 30 inches, while Mystic saw 24 inches. In New Haven County, Madison reported 22 inches and Branford reported 19 inches. Many cities in northern Connecticut saw 10 to 15 inches of snow. Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks reported nearly 12 inches.
Snow also covered much of the Northeast on Monday, with Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts getting hit the hardest.
In Providence, T.F. Green International Airport recorded nearly 38 inches of snow, breaking a snowfall record set during the Blizzard of 1978. In Massachusetts, some towns on Cape Cod recorded winds in excess of 70 mph.
Connecticut state officials said Monday's blizzard lived up to the hype.
The snow was wetter and heavier than last month’s snowstorm, making digging out more difficult. The heavier snow combined with high winds brought down trees and knocked out power to thousands across the state.
“It is playing out as forecasted,” said Josh Cingranelli, a meteorologist with the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “We’ve already seen snowfall totals approaching 20 inches in southeastern Connecticut. We’ve seen wind gusts approaching 70 miles per hour at Groton New London Airport, officially 68 miles per hour. And we do have official blizzard conditions reported in Groton, Meriden, and also Waterbury.”
In Connecticut, power outages were not as numerous as expected. Eversource said it had restored power to more than 24,000 customers; nearly 3,000 Eversource customers were without power as of 10 p.m. In southern Connecticut, United Illuminating had restored power to more than 4,000 customers; there were just a few UI customers without power Monday night.
State officials are warning people without power to be careful when using generators and to never use them indoors. Instead, run them outside.
Turner, the state emergency director, is also reminding residents to use caution when shoveling snow by taking breaks, staying hydrated, and stopping if they don’t feel well.
Southeastern CT hit hard
Some of the highest reported snowfall totals in the state came from southeastern Connecticut.
"It was certainly howling throughout the night,” Stonington First Selectman Bill Middleton said. “You look out and just see the billows of snow blowing by at a pretty high rate.”
Middleton said the snow was a challenge to move, so crews started out using bigger vehicles on the main roads.
“The pickup trucks just can't quite handle the heavy snow, so we've started out with the dump trucks, front loaders, and back hoes just to get things going,” he said.
Snow impacts airport, rail service
The blizzard led to dozens of cancelled flights at Bradley Airport and shut down Tweed New Haven Airport on Monday. Tweed was set to re-open Tuesday morning. Several Tuesday morning flights out of Bradley were cancelled.
The blizzard also resulted in train delays and cancellations Monday on the Metro-North Railroad in Connecticut.
Trains and train stations were mostly empty in southwestern Connecticut Monday afternoon.
Bridgeport resident Rebecca Legoute planned to catch a train to get to work at a restaurant in New Canaan. But she ended up stuck in Stamford after her train was cancelled.
"There's no train running into New Canaan right now," she said. "The transportation system is kind of crazy. Even the trains coming out of Bridgeport were kind of wonky; they had several cancellations throughout the day."
Legoute's manager picked her up to get her to work.
Dumping snow into rivers, lakes
All of the snow has to go somewhere.
That’s why state environmental officials are giving the OK for towns to dump piles of snow from roads, bridges and parking lots into Connecticut’s rivers and lakes.
It’s a practice that’s not usually allowed. Salt and other debris in snow can have a negative impact on water quality. It can block drains, increase the risk of localized flooding and harm fish and other wildlife.
But Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is making an exception so roads can be cleared for emergency vehicles.
The department has issued guidelines for towns to follow, including not dumping snow within a hundred feet of public and private wells used for drinking water.
Braving the wind to sled
Kids and grownups soaked up some Vitamin D and got a workout as they sled down a hill by the Glastonbury Community Church Monday.
Joey Borderi was on a holiday with his parents and sister from Seoul, South Korea, visiting family in Connecticut.
“We have no snow like this in Korea, so we’re having a good time right now,” the teenager said.
The family had planned to be in New York City, but had to cancel because of the weather.
“But this is a great substitute, we’re just happy to be here and making the best of it,” said Joey's dad, Joseph Borderi. “The beautiful thing is that we get to be kids again. We don’t have to work at it, so we’re enjoying it.”
Andy Willard was out with his kids Madison, 6, and Andy, 3.
Madison nodded shyly when asked if sledding was more fun than screen time.
“Yeah I think so, [that’s] a yes!” Willard laughed.
Among the group on the hill was seventh grader Katherine Li, who had come from Rocky Hill to sled with her friend, Leah Jin.
“It’s really fun going downhill,” Li said. “It’s the speed.”
