Hazardous Weather Outlook Issued As Thousands Still Without Power In Southern CT

SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT — The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook and a wind advisory for southern Connecticut on Monday.

The advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday. West winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

Eversource is reporting 14,277 outages across Connecticut on Monday and United Illuminating Co. shows 1,151 outages.

Towns reporting 500 or more outages include: Monroe, 613, New Canaan, 598, Newtown, 1,091, Norwalk, 1,125, Redding, 548, Ridgefield, 525, Waterbury, 670, and Woodbury, 797.

Hundreds of Eversource line, tree and service crews are working to make repairs to the electric system and restore power to customers following this weekend’s snow and ice storm, officials said.

Heavy, wet snow and thick coatings of ice brought down trees and branches onto power lines and electric equipment causing outages in communities around Connecticut. With strong winds expected to impact the state Monday, any weakened limbs will be more susceptible to falling and causing further damage, company officials said.

Since the storm began Saturday night, Eversource has restored power to approximately 85,000 customers, 76 critical facilities such as police and fire stations, hospitals, schools, sewage and water treatment facilities, and cleared 127 blocked roads. Approximately 14,000 customers remain without power as of 10 a.m., many of which are single customer outages that will require time-intensive repairs. Additional crews from around the region have arrived and more will be arriving throughout the day to support the restoration effort.

“Crews are making solid progress restoring power to customers as quickly and safely as possible, but the electric system continues to take on damage from the layers of ice that are weighing down trees, and those limbs and branches can come down much more easily with the strong winds we’re expecting today,” said Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan. “The icy road conditions, especially on the side streets, have also made travel difficult for our crews – impeding their efforts to get where they’re needed. Our crews have been working tirelessly to respond to community priorities such as blocked roads while working to clear damage and make necessary repairs to the electric system. We brought in additional crews to support the restoration effort, and our team is committed to staying on the job around-the-clock until every customer has their power back.”

Forecast updates

"Skies have cleared overnight, and those winds are gusting 30-45mph this morning, so bundle up and watch for black ice," said WFSB 3 TV meteorologists. "While our temperatures aren’t so bad, they’re in the mid to upper 20s and lower 30s, it’s that wind making it feel so harsh outside. These cold temps, combined with the wind, are putting wind chill values to start this President’s Day in the single digits; a few hill towns could even be below zero!

"This coming week starts off dry, but quite cold," said WFSB 3 TV meteorologists. "Arctic air will be with us for the foreseeable future. We’re expecting afternoon high temperatures in the mid-20s. These cold temperatures, combined with gusty winds, will result in wind chill values in the single digits and teens during the day, and below zero in the mornings for Monday, Tuesday, and possibly into Wednesday morning as well. We have issued First Alert Weather Days for Monday and Tuesday due to the cold and wind. We will remain dry through Wednesday of this week!
Our next period of interest is Thursday. Currently, model guidance suggests a storm, but its exact track will determine if we see plowable amounts of snow, a few inches, or a complete miss. Stay tuned as we refine the forecast in the coming days. By Friday, temperatures look to climb closer to our seasonal average of 40 degrees in the Hartford area for this time of year." (Read more at WFSB 3 TV).

Here are the forecast updates for southern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:

Washington's Birthday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 14. Wind chill values between zero and 10. West wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 26. Wind chill values between zero and 10. West wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 13. Wind chill values between 5 and 10. West wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Wednesday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 28. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15.

Thursday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 34.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 17.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 36.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37.