What you need to know about the pre-Christmas storm affecting your holiday travel plans
A massive winter storm hitting the US has left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Northeast without power. Freezing temperatures are likely to turn to a mixture of snow and ice, making for grim road conditions with poor visibility. Travel is also being snarled, with surge flooding, road closures and transportation cancellations.
The shift in temperatures won't be quite extreme in New York, but the National Weather Service are still calling it a "once in a generation" storm.
"Mother Nature is going to throw everything she has at us, and that means wind, ice, snow, freezing rain,” Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday. "It’s going to be extraordinary."
Hochul declared a state of emergency for the entire state starting Thursday evening and continuing through Monday.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont activated the state's emergency operations center on Friday morning in response to the significant wind and rain storm.
"Following the storm on Friday, temperatures are expected to plummet causing icy road conditions. We’ve been in regular contact with the utility companies, which have brought in hundreds out-of-state crews on this holiday weekend in anticipation of outages," Lamont said.
Shelters are open across the state and anyone can call 2-1-1 to get connected to the nearest available location in Connecticut.
Hochul cautions for safe holiday travel
"Do not travel until the roads are reopened, that you know it's safe,' Governor Kathy Hochul said. "I know it's hard for families. Many of us have delayed the opportunity to see family members. It is an important time of gathering, especially after being separated during the COVID Christmases and Hanukkahs where people were separated. So, I know there's a strong desire to be with loved ones at this time, but the lives of your loved ones and yourselves come first."
The Long Island Rail Road is on or close to schedule. Despite pockets of black ice, major roads are clear.
Below freezing temperatures will last through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 2 p.m. Saturday, PSEG Long Island reports fewer than 150 customers remain without power — many in Nassau County where heavy winds and flooding was most significant — after a pre-Christmas storm knocked out power to nearly 40,000 customers.
Nassau County has warming centers open Saturday at Wantagh and Cantiague parks through 6 p.m. and 24/7 at Mitchel Field in Garden City.
Lamont urges warming centers to stay open
Governor Ned Lamont is urging Connecticut towns and cities with residents who are continuing to experience power outages due to the winter storm on Friday to continue providing warming centers and shelters as needed.
“The extreme cold being experienced right now by a vast majority of the nation poses a threat to the health and safety to those without heat, and our municipalities must continue to offer warmth and shelter to those who need it, especially as Christmas Eve approaches," Lamont said in a statement.
As of noon on Saturday, the state's two largest utility companies are reporting that residents in 93 towns and cities in Connecticut are experiencing outages. Over a third of them are estimated to have power restored by 6 p.m. Saturday, another third are expected to have power by midnight; and the rest will have power by 8:00 a.m. Christmas morning on Sunday.
As of 11 a.m., about 30,000 Eversource customers remain without power; fewer than 100 United Illuminating customers in Connecticut lack electricity.
"We recognize how difficult it is to be without power, especially with extreme cold and as we approach Christmas,” said Steve Sullivan, president of Eversource Connecticut. “We’re at the point of the restoration where the repairs made at one location may only bring back a dozen customers, so the outage numbers won’t be dropping as quickly as they did earlier in the restoration
Lamont also expressed gratitude to "thousands of out-of-state line workers" who are spending their holiday to help with restoration.
“Our line crews won’t stop until the job is finished and power has been restored to every household in our service territory, and I hope that as families across Connecticut gather with relatives and friends to celebrate the holidays this weekend, they’ll keep in mind the efforts of these line workers and the work they did to keep the lights on," Frank Reynolds, president & CEO of United Illuminating, said in a statement Friday night.
The state Emergency Operations Center is in "enhanced monitoring status" through the duration of the storm.
The state's severe cold weather protocol is extended through Tuesday. Anyone in need of shelter or a warming center is urged to call 2-1-1 to find the nearest available locations, which can also be found online. Those traveling for the holidays can access road conditions, public bus transit, and train schedules online.
Hochul says avoid unnecessary travel
Governor Kathy Hochul said high winds and flooding are causing problems from Buffalo to Long Island.
New York has been under a state of emergency since this morning and 7,700 utility workers are responding to thousands of power outages.
Hochul urged New Yorkers to avoid unnecessary travel if roads are unsafe in their region.
“The bad news is that it was a horrific forecast and now we are experiencing it in real time at this moment,” Hochul said. “I called it a kitchen sink storm because it is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. We have had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures and everything Mother Nature could throw at us this weekend.”
On Long Island, over 3,300 customers are still without power — mostly in Suffolk County. PSEG Long Island said it recognizes that being without power for any length of time is a hardship, especially during the holidays.
Western Long Island and New York City have experienced the worst of the flooding, as much as three feet in Howard Beach, Breezy Point, and the Rockaways. Several major highways and the LIRR’s Long Beach branch were closed early this morning.
Hochul said the flooding has started to go down, but not for long.
“More rain is coming there,” Hochul warned. “This was not a rain flooding event. This was a coastal flooding event which is very different.”
Nassau County police responded to 104 calls for people trapped in their cars by the flood waters.
Weather forecasters expect temperatures to plummet and remain below freezing during the holiday weekend. Expect snow flurries and bitter wind chill.
Eversource working hard to restore power
Tens of thousands of customers in Connecticut have lost power in the wake of the pre-Christmas storm.
Most are in areas serviced by Eversource, the state’s largest electricity utility.
Mitch Gross, a spokesperson for Eversource, said it might take a while to restore power to all customers
“We serve 149 of the state’s 169 communities,” Gross said. “And unfortunately, every community we serve has a power issue to some degree.”
He adds that the storm brought down dozens of trees across the state, blocking roads and taking down power lines. Line and tree crews are working hard to restore power to affected customers.
“There are still dozens and dozens of blocked roads and instances of trees taking down lines and this is across the state,” Gross said “Now the crews will stay on their jobs for as long as it takes but this restoration work is going to take some time. Customers should understand this.”
Lamont braces for more
“We are expected to receive another burst of high winds on Friday afternoon that are likely to cause many more power outages,” Governor Ned Lamont said in a statement. “Additionally, while it is mild and rainy outside right now, we are going to see temperatures plummet around dusk on Friday evening, and these wet conditions could freeze over very quickly. When this happens, roads are going to get icy."
The state Emergency Operations Center is in "enhanced monitoring status" through the duration of the storm.
Lamont also extended the severe cold weather protocol through Tuesday, instead of Monday. Shelters and warming centers are open throughout Connecticut. Anyone in need of shelter should call 2-1-1 to get connected to nearby locations. Transportation can be provided.
"Transportation crews are unable to pre-treat the roads at the moment because the heavy rainfall that we are experiencing right now would just wash any treatment away," Lamont said. "Crews are on standby and waiting for the rain to stop so they can apply treatment to the roads. I strongly urge everyone to get to where you need to be before temperatures drop this evening because the roads will become very slick.”
Downed trees and wires are causing closures on several of roads throughout the state. Road conditions are available online.
Public bus transit is continuing to operate statewide, however there are some delays and service disruptions on certain lines. Anyone planning to use public transit is urged to check with the respective transit operator for the latest updates. Danbury Branch service on Metro-North has resumed after an earlier suspension caused by multiple downed trees along the branch.
Lamont advises residents avoid visiting state parks to survey storm damage. Several state parks have been closed due to downed trees.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles has also issued an emergency order suspending certain state rules regarding limitations on the intrastate transportation of gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel, and propane.
Avoid Fairfield Beach Road
Please avoid the area of Fairfield Beach Road at this time. Fairfield Fire Department personnel in the High Water Rescue Unit are in the area providing emergency response.
Power progress
Since the morning drive, Eversource is making progress. Almost 86,000 Connecticut customers remain without power, down from 102,000. United Illuminating is reporting 945 customers are still without power, down from 2,900.
PSEG Long Island reports at least 5,200 customers are without power, mostly in Suffolk County.
Metro North’s Danbury Branch is suspended. All other New Haven line trains are running with 10-15 minute delays system wide.
The Long Island Railroad’s Long Beach branch is suspended due to storm-related signal problems. There are scattered delays on all other branches.
Checking on Fire Island inlet
Storm surge pushed at least 3 feet of water over Bellport Village Marina after the pre-Christmas storm blew over the south shore of Long Island on Thursday night.
Tom Schultz, director of restoration with Friends of Bellport Bay, said this is significant flooding since the Fire Island inlet created by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 closed earlier this month. "We've experienced multiple and atypical very high tides since the inlet closed, which is not surprising," he said.
The closure prevents the tide from flushing out into the Atlantic Ocean twice per day. Over the past decade, the inlet has acted as a relief valve so when storm surge or celestial high tides occurred, the inlet would allow bay water to escape, mitigating high water events in Bellport Bay.
Bridgeport warming centers
Mayor Joe Ganim and Bridgeport's Office of Emergency Management are urging residents to use the city's warming centers through Monday, Dec., 26 if they have trouble heating their homes as temperatures drop with very low wind chill.
- Black Rock Senior Center – 2676 Fairfield Avenue, (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. weekdays)
- Eisenhower Senior Center – 307 Golden Hill Street, (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. weekdays; closed on Christmas Day)
- North End Bethany Senior Center – 20 Throme Street, (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. weekdays)
- 710 Water Street, Mon- Fri (9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.)
- Main Branch, Bridgeport Public Library – 925 Broad Street, Monday and Tuesday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Wednesday and Thursday (12:00 - 8:00 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The library is closed on Sunday.
- Black Rock Branch, Bridgeport Public Library – 2705 Fairfield Avenue, Monday and Tuesday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Wednesday and Thursday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The library is closed on Sunday.
- Newfield Branch, Bridgeport Public Library – 755 Central Avenue, Monday and Tuesday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Wednesday and Thursday (10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The library is closed on Sunday.
- North Branch, Bridgeport Public Library – 3455 Madison Avenue, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Thursday (12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The library is closed on Sunday.
- East Side Branch, Bridgeport Public Library – 1174 East Main Street, Monday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.), Tuesday and Wednesday (12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.), Thursday, Friday and Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The library is closed on Sunday.
- South End Community Center- Overnight Stay/Case Worker Support – 650 Park Ave – Open 24/7, until April 2023.
Ganim also recommends residents:
- Check heating devices.
- Do not use a stove or oven to heat your home due to potential gas, carbon monoxide and fire hazards.
- Ensure that pets are brought inside.
- Watch for ice on pipes and ground cover.
- Bundle up if you must go outside.
Traveling this weekend
An estimated 113 million people will be traveling nationwide for the holidays this year, according to AAA Northeast.
"What we do suggest people to do, whether they’re taking a car, a flight, a boat, whatever, just pack your patience because we, as Americans, are traveling," spokesperson Fran Mayko said. "Our numbers are a lot higher than last year, we’re getting up there and we’re gonna go-go-go."
The National Weather Service is forecasting strong winds, heavy rains, and potential coastal flooding to much of Connecticut and Long Island. Then, over the holiday weekend, some of the coldest air of the season.
The busiest days of travel are expected to be the days after Christmas and New Years.
Service outages
This morning’s storm has knocked out power across southern Connecticut and Long Island, New York.
Over Eversource 100,000 customers woke up this morning without power. United Illuminating reported another 2,900 customers without electricity.
Eversource spokesperson Mitch Gross said the difficulty in restoring power after the storm is that the damage is scattered throughout the state.
“We have dozens and dozens of blocked roads that we're working with the towns to clear, we have just a laundry list of reports of trees taking down lines all across the state, we serve 149 of the state's 169 communities. And unfortunately, pretty much every community has a power issue to some degree today,” Gross told the New England News Collaborative.
On Long Island, at least 9,200 customers are without power, mostly in Suffolk County.
The Danbury Branch on Metro-North is suspended. All other New Haven line trains are running with 10-15 minute delays system wide, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
On Long Island Rail Road, the Long Beach branch is suspended due to storm related -signal problems. There are scattered delays on all other branches.