Snow continues to abatement this morning in
Fairfield County as a
blizzard-like storm roars through the area.
Towns and
cities abide beneath snow emergencies, while anchorage abide betraying and abuse biking on Metro North has been shut down.
Heavy snow fell throughout the night, but abundant wind gusts of up to 60 afar per hour accept fabricated it difficult to admeasurement the absolute snowfall, which is accepted to be at atomic a bottom beyond the region.
The storm has left travelers returning home by road, train and air stranded.
This morning, the National Weather Service calls for snow showers to continue until 1 p.m. while snow already on the ground will swirl around in the wind. The snowfall will heavy until about 8 a.m., with up to two inches falling per hour.
Snow showers could continue until 4 p.m., while wind gusts could be as high as 49 miles per hour.
Snowfall totals have been difficult to determine, but Bridgeport had eight inches of snow reported at 9:30 p.m. yesterday. There were reports of 11 inches in Greenwich and Danbury and 10 inches in Stamford, New Canaan and Westport.
Nearby, totals as high as 29 inches have been reported in New Jersey and 26 inches in New York.
Wind gusts yesterday reached as high as 60 miles per hour at Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
As the season's first major snowstorm struck New England, the region braced for the worst. The National Weather Service issued both blizzard and coastal flooding warnings through Monday.
Travelers reported delays, slippery conditions and minor accidents along Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway. State police said there were about a dozen accidents throughout the day on those two major roadways, but none were serious. A tractor-trailer jackknifed on I-95 southbound just past Exit 29, but the accident was cleared after 6 p.m. Another was cleared southbound on I-95 in Darien.
"If people don't have to travel before noon on Monday, it's best not to," Connecticut Weather Center meteorologist Bill Jacquemin said.
Snow had accumulated an inch an hour by evening. Wind gusts as high as 50 mph carried the snow in drifts, reduced visibility and made driving hazardous. Three to six inches of snow covered the region by 7 p.m.
Thunder snowstorms late Sunday night could drop 2 to 4 inches per hour, Jacquemin said. Monday accumulations could bring the total to more than 20 inches.
Jacquemin predicted there would be some coastal flooding between 1 and 5 a.m., but northerly winds would push most of the water away from the tide. Snow would continue to blow in 30-35 mph wind gusts throughout Monday.
Bridgeport declared a snow emergency, and Mayor Bill Finch said alternate-side street parking rules would apply through 1 a.m. Tuesday. Bridgeport canceled trash and recycling pickup scheduled for Monday.
Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst declared a townwide parking ban. Stratford also declared a snow emergency with alternate-side parking rules.
Throughout the region, residents were out early trying to load up on supplies.
Customers at the Stop & Shop in Westport Sunday morning were several-deep at each checkout register.
At Ace Hardware in Monroe, "Lots of people are coming in," said head cashier Kaila Cleary. "They're buying a lot of sleds, rock salt, and we're about sold out of our shovels."
Post-holiday shoppers braved the cold and headed to the malls. The concierge at Westfield Trumbull mall said the center was busy in the early afternoon. Security guards at the Westfield Connecticut Post mall in Milford said shoppers were still milling about in the late afternoon, even though half of the stores decided to close early.
The Edge Fitness Club in Fairfield was having an unusually busy Sunday, an employee said.
Town police departments around the region reported minor accidents. The Monroe dispatcher called it a "Christmas miracle" that so many people elected to stay off the roadways.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton late Sunday afternoon banned travel on city streets, opening the Patriot Garage to vehicle owners who had no place to park. As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, only emergency personnel, emergency vehicles and four-wheel-drive vehicles were allowed to operate in the city.
Boughton said Danbury police would ticket other motorists as well as those who fail to get their cars off the streets so plows can do their jobs. The snow emergency will remain in effect until 7 a.m. Monday, he said.
Early Sunday, Gov. M. Jodi Rell opened the emergency operations center and put the State Police and National Guard on standby. She said the state's 632 plow operators would clear roads throughout the day.
In some respects, the storm's timing was fortuitous. Schools in the area are closed this upcoming week for the holiday break, and many workers were taking vacation time as well.
Nonetheless, the storm was wreaking havoc along the northeast transportation corridor, already under heavy stress because of the post-Christmas flood of travelers.
More than 1,400 flights were canceled out of the New York City area's three major airports alone, and more cancellations were expected Monday.
The news was much better at Bradley International Airport, which was open with no airlines reporting cancellations. Similarly, Metro-North officials Monday evening said trains were not experiencing any delays.
Statewide, courts and state administrative agencies will be closed Monday because of the weather. Amtrak canceled trains between New York and Boston, and Metro-North was scheduled to run on a Sunday schedule.
Greater Bridgeport Transit planned to make a decision by 4 a.m. Monday on what service it would be providing. Updates would be available through its website or Facebook page.
GBT planning officer Doug Holcomb warned there may be delays Monday especially in hilly areas, such as on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport and Stern Village in Trumbull.
Staff writers Daniel Tepfer and Vinti Singh contributed to this report.
