CT Cleans Up After Storm, Braces For More Heavy Rain | CT News Junkie

Town, state and utility crews were scrambling to get roads cleaned up and power restored Sunday after a big thunder and hail storm hit parts of Connecticut, and ahead of more rain and possible flooding expected Monday into Tuesday. 

From Salisbury to Harwinton, the July 4 storm wreaked havoc, uprooting trees and leaving behind golfball-sized hail in some areas. Wind speeds of up to 56 mph were recorded in Burlington, but the storm weakened as it moved southeast across Connecticut. 

Up to 100,000 were without power at one point, with about 55,000 Eversource customers still without power on Sunday evening and just over 400 United Illuminating customers waiting for power to be restored. Canaan, Harwinton, New Fairfield and Salisbury had more than half of its utility customers still without power as of 6 p.m. Sunday.

Gov. Ned Lamont said utility crews immediately began working on restoration, but that repairs may take several days in some areas due to the scale of the damage.

“The utilities have called down additional crews from Canada to help restore power in Connecticut as soon as possible, and our administration will do anything in our ability that can help expedite power restoration,” the governor said in a statement Sunday afternoon. 

“The state’s emergency response team remains in contact with every affected town and stands ready to send additional support the moment a municipality requests it. Connecticut has been through storms like this before, and we get through them by looking out for one another.”

In Torrington and Harwinton, where local states of emergencies were declared, crews worked through the night Saturday into Sunday to make roads passable and keep residents safe. 

Officials are urging everyone to obey closed road signs and stay away from any downed power lines.

“Do not drive around barricades, as roads may be unsafe due to fallen trees, damaged utility poles, or flooding,” the Torrington Fire Department urged.

Several areas of the state are under a flood watch Monday as repeated rounds of heavy rain are expected to bring in 3-5 inches of rain. 

“If showers and thunderstorms concentrate over local areas and deliver repeated rounds of heavy rainfall, towns could see localized amounts in some narrow bands well over 6 inches,” the CT Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said. 

NOAA’s weather prediction center has upgraded Southern Connecticut into a moderate risk category, level 3 out of 4, officials said. 

“Not everyone will see flooding, but any locations that get repeated downpours could experience rapid flooding,” meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan said on his social media page. “The exact placement of the heaviest rain is still uncertain.”

Lamont urged anyone looking for real-time updates on state road closures to visit CTroads.org and to sign up for emergency alerts at portal.ct.gov/ctalert.

“Keep monitoring weather alerts over the coming days, as additional rainfall could bring a risk of flash flooding,” Lamont said. “Never drive through a flooded road.”