HARTFORD, Conn — Connecticut residents woke up to a blanket of snow on Sunday morning after a powerful winter battered the state throughout the night.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for portions of northern Connecticut that is in effect until 1 a.m. as the powerful system makes its way across New England. Up to a foot of snow was expected in parts of the region.
In Connecticut, anywhere between 4 to 8 inches of snow fell overnight into Sunday morning with more expected to fall throughout the rest of the day.
“I bet it was an inch and a half an hour probably it was snowing,” said George Prager of Wingdale, N.Y., while shoveling a sidewalk in the center of Kent on Sunday morning. “It was pretty good. It started yesterday before midnight and as it got earlier in the morning, it got heavier and heavier.”
Prager said he had been shoveling the sidewalks in front of businesses in downtown Kent since about 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
Eversource reported more than 2,400 outages across its service region in Connecticut.
At Bradley International Airport, about 20% of flights were cancelled and 3% are currently delayed. The primary impact is on the morning departures.
"As our airline partners continue to adjust their schedules in response to the storm, passengers who are traveling today and tomorrow are advised to check with their airline to confirm the status of their flight before heading to the airport," a spokesperson said.
PHOTOS: FOX61 viewers share their photos of the snow
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, in his first major snowstorm since taking the helm of the capital city, said the crews worked around the clock to make sure the roads were clear and safe. He said after a parking ban went into effect Saturday night, the crews dumped nearly 1 million lbs. of salt on the 250 miles of city roads.
“The DPW workers have been incredible. They’ve been out all night,” Arulampalam said. “They’ve been working hard, clearing roads.”
He asked people to keep their cars off the roads as the crews work.
Rick Fontana, the director of emergency operations in New Haven, said his neck of the woods was spared from the heavy snow that more northern parts of the state experienced. He said the city got about 2 inches of snow overnight.
"Right now, streets are really wet with some slush conditions on some of the side roads," he said. "By pre-treating a lot of roads, we really dodged a bullet here."
Norfolk Public Information Officer Jon Barbagallo said that the town's crews will be "out through the day" to keep the roads clear "and put down salt." While roads are still snow covered, he said that people should take their time when traveling.
Abbie Berube, a plow driver in the town of Winsted, said "it's been a lot of snow, hard to move" and that it is "stuck to the ground especially when people drive over it."
Ahead of the storm, Gov. Ned Lamont says it’s been about two years since a major storm hit the state.
“I think this storm’s been a long time coming,” Lamont said.
The storm is expected to track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend, with the heaviest snowfall expected in Pennsylvania, parts of the Hudson Valley, and portions of New England.
In Massachusetts and portions of Rhode Island, the National Weather Service declared a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Saturday through 1 a.m. Monday, with snow accumulations of 6 inches up to a foot and winds gusting as high as 35 mph (56 kph).
The weather service predicted similar levels of snow in portions of Maine and New Hampshire, with slightly less — 3 to 6 inches — in areas of Vermont.
---
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.