NEWINGTON -- Fasten your seat belts, the next few months might be bumpy and potholes are the problem.
A report from AAA of Greater Hartford said there are more potholes this winter and they have presented themselves earlier.
"This is not what we usually think of as pothole season," said Amy Parmenter, AAA spokeswoman. "It's kind of been the perfect storm for potholes, we had the extreme cold and then the thaw and you have potholes."
Parmenter said this past weekend alone AAA of Greater Hartford responded to more than double the calls for flat tires, 426 calls, compared to 278 calls for the same weekend in 2017.
She added, "we got nine service calls alone from just one pothole (in Windsor)."
AAA estimates potholes cause American drivers around three billion dollars worth of damage per year.
In Newington, the pothole problem is apparent at Turnpike Motors Autobody.
Customer Service Manager Dan Hovey said, "the big potholes are bending wheels, blowing tires, bending suspension, we even have a vehicle that hit a pothole and ended up setting the sub-frame back."
The issues are compounded at night, Hovey said, then mentioned that melting snow fills potholes with water so they appear to be puddles.
"Keep your eyes open out there," said Hovey.
For more on how to prevent serious vehicle damage from potholes, click here.