More Sleet Accumulation Expected for North Branford

UPDATE: The latest National Weather Service forecast for Connecticut’s first winter storm this season has changed for the worse.

As we wrote earlier this morning a “Winter Weather Advisory” remains in effect for the entire state of Connecticut beginning tonight and ending sometime on Tuesday depending on your location.

However, the change is that the National Weather Service is now calling for more of an accumulation of sleet and ice for all parts of the state. This is really not a snow storm at all.

It now appears that Tuesday’s commute to work will definitely be a tricky and slippery one for the entire state of Connecticut.

Here is the updated National Weather Service forecast:

Southern Fairfield, New Haven counties:

The National Weather Service is now predicting up to an inch of sleet accumulation by 6 a.m. Temps will exceed the freezing mark after 6 a.m. and then the precipitation switches to plain rain.

Earlier this morning the National Weather Service was predicting less than a half inch of slushy accumulation.

There is no longer a “Winter Weather Advisory” in effect for southern Middlesex and New London counties.

Northern Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, and New London counties:

Now the weather service says up to 2 inches of sleet accumulation is possible and a trace of ice. There will be a prolonged period of sleet and light freezing rain in this area, which will lead to “slippery roadways and sidewalks,” the weather service states.

The change over to plain rain may not happen until after 11 a.m. Temps will dip below freezing to around 30 degrees but rebound to around 40 on Tuesday afternoon.

Hartford and Tolland counties:

Snow and sleet could accumulate one half to two inches but the major concern is that the ice could accumulate up to one quarter of an inch now, which would make driving potentially hazardous.

The accumulation of snow is less than what was originally predicted but the duration of ice is now longer, according to the National Weather Service. Temps will fall back into the upper 20s tonight and only hit the mid 30s on Tuesday.

Snow is expected to change to sleet and ice quickly after midnight but it won’t change to plain rain until late Tuesday morning.

“Impacts...Hazardous travel conditions expected on Tuesday...especially for the morning commute,” the weather service states adding that the evening commute home could pose a challenge as temperatures dip below freezing again.

Photo credit: Jeffreyw via flickr.com.