NEW LONDON, Conn — A wet and windy end to the week in Connecticut ahead of the holiday weekend.
"I have a daughter that’s in Cleveland, Ohio. They are having the white Christmas and we’re having the wet Christmas," said Christine Norige of Bozrah.
Rain is one of several concerns in the New London area where some areas along the water are prone to flooding.
"Fortunately we don’t get a lot of coastal flooding here because of the topography of the city but there are a few areas so ahead of time we deploy the barricades for the roads," said Mayor Michael Passero.
Pequot Road is one place that tends to see flooding during storms like this one.
"We do definitely see the marina behind us get pretty flooded water over the docks. It’s pretty big. Especially if you keep going down Pequot it gets flooded. Closer to the water and the beaches," said Parker Klorczyk of Waterford.
For the folks at Fred’s Shanty, the bigger concern though is the wind.
"We brought everything inside. We took our main awning down because we don’t want it to blow away or get knocked over. All of our equipment that we have outside, hoses, you name it. Everything kinda came in," Klorczyk said.
The city is preparing for wind gusts between 45 and 60 miles per hour. Some people spent the day getting ready for that possibility.
"Go outside and take a look around the yard and see what was going to blow away or anything and try to either pick it up or tie it down, try to secure everything," said George Hnatowicz of Bozrah.
As for the roads, the rain makes it difficult to pre-treat them before a quick drop in temperatures later in the day on Friday.
The sand pile in New London was fully stocked though, and crews are ready.
"Testing all the equipment, getting the trucks ready. They’re prepared for that flash freeze sometime late Friday. So they’ll be out making sure that the roads are safe," Passero said.
The warming center in New London is open. It's located next to the Emergency Shelter at 325 Huntington Street. Check-in is from 6-9:30 p.m. and check-out is at 6 a.m. Masks are required.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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