HARTFORD, Conn. — It was a winter wonderland in Connecticut and parts of the Northeast on Tuesday as a quick-moving storm barreled through the region dumping multiple inches of snow and closing schools.
Some communities, particularly in Hartford County, saw more than a foot of snowfall during the height of the storm. West Hartford and Farmington saw a whopping 15.5 inches. Click here for the latest snow totals.
Multiple car crashes were reported across the state, including a tractor-trailer jackknifed on Interstate 91 in Rocky Hill.
In anticipation of the storm, the governor issued a ban on all tandem or empty tractor-trailers from the state’s limited access highways. The ban was done in coordination with New York and Massachusetts officials, who enacted similar orders on their roads during the storm. The ban was lifted at around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
In a moment of fun on Tuesday, the Guilford Police Department “issued” a warrant for Chuckles, the groundhog, who recently declared that spring was coming earlier.
“Chuckles we are coming for you,” the police department’s Facebook post said. “Warrant in hand. You have the right to stop predicting early Spring. Defrauding the public is a crime and you must be held accountable.”
On a more serious note, they asked residents to stay home if they can and to stay off the road as much as possible.
“If you are going to have to shovel, do it in increments as the snow is predicted to be very heavy,” the post said. “If you have elderly or disabled neighbors, please help them out clearing a safe path for them.”
Susan Smith was spending the day with her three children, ages 14, 11 and 8, at her home in Columbia, because schools were closed. She said she likes traditional snow days off, but would also like to see remote learning on some bad weather days.
“But I still remember being a kid and really looking forward to snow days, so I don’t want to completely wipe that off the map with remote learning,” Smith said.
The state Department of Transportation said they had more than 600 snowplow trucks and 900 drivers tackling the snow and ice.
"If people are able to work from home or delay travel outside of the rush hour on Tuesday, that would be incredibly helpful,” CTDOT spokesperson Josh Morgan said on Monday. "But we certainly know that not everyone has that privilege. So, if people are out and they need to be out, please please give yourself extra time. It's not going to be an easy commute by any means tomorrow. So, give yourself some extra time leave plenty of distance between other vehicles and certainly don't crowd our plows.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has also ordered executive state branch buildings to close to the public during the storm.
At Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, more than 10% of flights were canceled by the airlines, primarily impacting flights scheduled for later in the morning through mid-day Tuesday. Airport officials said additional cancellations or delays are possible as airlines adjust their schedules in response to the storm.
“Passengers who are traveling today are advised to check with their airline to confirm the status of their flight before heading to the airport,” officials said in a statement.
Ahead of Tuesday’s storm power companies said they were preparing to respond to possible outages that could occur because of trees and branches falling onto electricity lines.
“The hazardous conditions can also make travel challenging for our crews, so we’re staging extra staff and equipment across the state to ensure we’re ready to respond as quickly as possible,” said Steve Sullivan, Eversource's president of Connecticut electric operations.
FOX61 viewers send their photos of the winter storm
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