Community Corner

CL&P Begins Storm Preparations

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for Ledyard.

 

Connecticut Light & Power is gearing up for the storm.

A spokesperson said the major concern is the high winds the storm is expected to bring - gusts of up to 60 MPH - and the possibility that warm air pushing up from the south could mean a heavy, wetter snow in some regions.

Find out what's happening in Ledyardwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mitch Gross, CL&P's spokesman said his utility has issued an "all hands on deck" alert to its workers, is holding meetings throughout the today with workers and expect to have "hundreds and hundreds" of line and tree workers on duty to deal with outages that could occur this weekend.

Gross, however, cautioned that crews will not be able to restore power during the storm or when the winds are high because of the dangers that could create.

Find out what's happening in Ledyardwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Our line workers and tree workers will be out there as long as it's safe," he added.

But, he said, the utility is also urging its customers to be ready for the storm. CL&P has storm preparedness tips on its website, as does the American Red Cross. You can view a PDF of the Red Cross's storm tips above.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for Stonington  in effect from Friday afternoon and continue through to Saturday afternoon.

Total accumulations here along the shoreline are expected to be some 18 to 24 inches of snow, along with possible traces of ice.

The high winds and heavy snow is expected to make for at times white out conditions, with visibility reduced to less than a quarter of a mile.

"The heavy snow will make for dangers driving conditions," the weather service meteorologists report in their alert. "In addition, the heavy snow and strong winds will result in blizzard conditions, bringing down some tree limbs and causing scattered power outages."

A winter storm watch that had been issued earlier this week has now been cancelled, with the blizzard watch issued in its place.

Know of a weather related cancellation? Share it in the comments.


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