HARTFORD, Conn. — A nor’easter with hurricane-force wind gusts at times battered much of southern New England on Saturday, flinging heavy snow that made travel treacherous or impossible.
In all, the storm thrashed 10 states, with blizzard warnings that stretched from Virginia to Maine. In Connecticut, New London got the brunt of the howling winds and snow, however, all parts of the Nutmeg State felt the impact of the storm.
“The biggest thanks you can give those folks is to stay off the road yourself,” said Gov. Ned Lamont during a midday news briefing.
He offered his praise to the Department of Transportation workers, as well as local Department of Public Works crews, who hit the roads early Saturday to plow the roads.
The National Weather Service considers a storm a blizzard if it has snowfall or blowing snow, as well as winds of at least 35 mph (56 kph) that reduce visibility to a quarter-mile or less for at least three hours. In some parts of the state, the storm met those criteria.
FOX61’s Matt Caron spotted an SUV that got stuck in the roadway in New London. They soon freed themselves and happily drove off to the nearest Dunkin’ for a snack.
"The plows are having a hard time keeping up with it. They are doing the best they can," New London Fire Chief Thomas Curcio said. "But the roads are pretty bad down here so I would encourage everybody to stay off the roads if you can unless you have to go to work at the hospital or someplace that is critical.
In West Hartford, a tractor-trailer jackknifed on Interstate 84, closing several lanes.
“Public safety is government’s No. 1 job, so it’s all-hands-on-deck here,” said Michael Purcaro, the director of emergency management for the town of Vernon. “We are trying to keep up and it’s coming down heavy for the next several hours.”
Despite some traffic incidents on the roadways, many people opted to stay home. Airports across the state canceled flights; Amtrak suspended their rail service; Metro-North suspended service on three rail lines while operating a limited schedule out of New Haven; bus services were also canceled around the state.
It was truly a "stay home" storm, however, there was still fun to be had.
A cross-country skier decided to make the best out of the winter storm in Stonington.
“Just enjoying the snow. It’s great skiing at the moment,” he told FOX61 News. “The wind is a little rough but you gotta take advantage of it while you can.”
Another person who took advantage of the snow was this police officer in Naugatuck, who grabbed a snowboard and decided to bring the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to town.
And FOX61's Elisha Machado decided to make a snow angel in Ashford!
Some snowfall estimates across the state included 15 inches in Uncasville, nearly that in Plainfield, and double digits in Niantic and Bridgeport.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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