Power Outage in Hartford, CT

Snowfall totals varied widely from as much as 18 in the northwest hills of Hartford county to as little as 1.5 inches in the southeast section of the county. Some specific totals include - 18.0 in Granby/Hartland, 12.5 in Burlington, 7.2 Suffield, 5.1 in Bristol, 4.5 at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, 3.0 in Glastonbury and 1.5 in Manchester. In East Hartland, at 220 pm on the 14th, multiple trees and powerlines were down with several roads impassable.

In East Granby, trees were down on power lines on Holcomb Street. Trees were down on Metacomet Drive. Trees were down on Sweetbriar Road.

In New Britain, a large tree was down on power lines on Biltmore Street. Winds generally were gusting to 40 to 45 mph.

In Enfield, six power poles were blown down on South Street.

Between 238 PM EDT and 630 PM EDT, there was widespread damage from fallen trees and power lines. At 351 PM EDT, a wind gust to 56 mph was recorded at the Bradley International Airport (KBDL) in Windsor Locks. At 455 PM EDT, a wind gust to 52 mph (45 kt) was measured at Hartford-Brainard Airport (KHFD). In West Hartford, trees and power lines were reported down in West Hartford, Newington, Enfield, and Burlington. Utility poles were downed in South Windsor. Trees were reported to have fallen onto houses in New Britain, Marlborough, Wethersfield (house crushed on Olney Street), East Windsor (heavy damage to a home on Pleasant Street), Bristol, and Rocky Hill. A tree was down onto a condo complex in South Windsor. In Wethersfield, the roof of an apartment complex was lifted off (on Maple Street). In New Britain, part of the roof was blown off a building in the New Brite Plaza. In Burlington, wires fell onto an occupied car, but there were no injuries. In a separate event, a tree fell onto a vehicle on Route 4 in Burlington, but the woman inside was not injured. There were widespread power outages. Municipal damage claims were approximately $6.9 million and uninsured home/small business claims were near $2.0 million. That does not count individual homeowners' insurance deductibles, etc.

At 6:32 AM EST a trained spotter in East Farmington Heights reported ice accumulation of one-quarter inch. Reports froms Burlington and North Granby indicated one-eighth of an inch of ice. There were no reports of damage, but these amounts normally indicate some transportation issues and possible power outages.

Four to seven inches of snow fell on Hartford County. Spotters in Manchester and East Farmington reported ice accumulations of one-quarter inch. At 10:25 AM EST power lines were reported down on Norton Lane in Berlin.

At Noon EST, a tree was reported down on Orchard Road in West Hartford. At 1:37 PM EST power lines were reported down across a driveway on Curtis Street in Bristol.

At 3 PM EST, several automobiles in Wethersfield suffered accidents due to icing on road surfaces. At 315 PM EST, wires were reported down in the downtown area of Granby due to icing. At 607 PM EST, multiple automobile accidents were reported in New Britain due to icing. At 617 PM EST, multiple automobile accidents were reported in South Windsor, including one on West Street where a car crashed into a utility pole and caused a power outage.

Power lines on Newbury Street and a large limb and wires on Grandview Terrace in Hartford were downed by severe thunderstorm winds.

A large tree in Canton, a tree and wires on Lovely Street in Avon, and numerous power lines across southern Hartford were all downed by thunderstorm winds.

The Automated Surface Observing System at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT (KBDL) recorded a sustained wind speed of 32 mph. In Hartford, a tree was downed onto wires on Clark Street. Power lines were downed on West Mountain Road in Simsbury.

The Automated Surface Observing System at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT (KBDL) recorded sustained wind speeds of 40 mph and gusts to 71 mph. In South Windsor, a tree was downed along Route 5, blocking Nutmeg Road. In West Hartford, a tree was downed onto power lines. In Hartford, trees were downed onto houses on Auburn Street and Bristol Street.

Six to seventeen inches of snow fell across Hartford County. Heavy wet snow fell on foliated trees, breaking branches and downing trees and wires, resulting in widespread power outages that lasted for up to 11 days. The Enfield DMV roof was compromised by the heavy snow and was shutdown. Both Avon and South Windsor have estimated 100,000 cubic yards of debris from fallen trees and power lines. The estimated cleanup costs across several towns in Hartford County is between $1.5 to $2.5 million. In addition, the Glastonbury Pheasant Farm lost more than 4,000 birds.

Numerous trees, wires, and power poles were downed in Glastonbury (Route 17), New Britain (Pendleton Road, Pinehurst Avenue, and Grand Street), East Hartford (Larrabee and Tolland Streets, Woodlawn Circle), South Windsor (Long Hill Road), Newington (Pebble Drive), West Hartford (Waterside Lane), Hartford (Hungerford Street), East Windsor, Plantsville, Suffield, and Enfield (Pearl and Pierce Streets). Several of these trees fell onto houses. The Automated Surface Observing System at Bradley International Airport (KBDL) recorded sustained wind speeds of 26 knots (30 mph) and wind gusts to 44 knots (51 mph). The Automated Surface Observing System at Hartford-Brainard Airport (KHFD) recorded sustained winds of 21 knots (24 mph) and wind gusts to 40 knots (46 mph).

An eighth of an inch of ice accumulated on power lines and wires in the Hartford area, downing these lines.

Ice accretion downed tree limbs and wires, causing power outages across much of Hartford County.

Trees and power lines were blown down on Bridge Avenue in West Hartford. The peak gust at Bradley International Airport was 49 mph.

A squall line formed in New York State then raced eastward in the late afternoon and early evening, gathering strength as it raced across Massachusetts, northeast Connecticut, and northern Rhode Island. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in southern New England, as there was widespread tree and power line damage from winds generally gusting to between 50 and 80 mph. The Storm Prediction Center officially classified it as a derecho.

A powerful low pressure system tracked across the Great Lakes and brought strong |and damaging winds to Connecticut Monday late morning through the evening. A very strong and highly anomalous low level jet brought southerly wind gusts of 60-70 mph ahead of a cold front that moved through Monday evening.

A very powerful low pressure system tracked up the east coast, passing southeast of Southern New England. This storm brought heavy snow and gusty winds, resulting in blizzard conditions along the Massachusetts east coast.

A strong coastal storm moved up the east coast and over Nantucket bringing a heavy wet snow to much of the area. This resulted in tree damage and scattered power outages across the region.

A warm front moved northward across southern New England. This brought a period of mainly rain and warm temperatures. In addition, a strong low level jet (up to 80 kts) resulted in high winds across much of southern New England. There was some tree damage and downed power lines with winds gusting to 60 to 70 mph.

A rare and historic October Nor'easter brought very heavy snow to portions of southern New England on Saturday October 29. Low pressure tracked northeast from the North Carolina coast Saturday morning, rapidly strengthening as it passed well south of Nantucket Saturday evening. As the storm intensified, colder air from aloft was drawn into New England resulting in heavy snow in the interior. ||Snowfall accumulations of one to two feet were common in the Monadnocks, Berkshires, Connecticut Valley, and higher elevations in central Massachusetts. Up to 31 inches of snow was reported at Jaffrey, New Hampshire and Plainfield, Massachusetts. Minor accumulations were even reported down to the south coast as the rain changed to a period of snow late Saturday night before ending. The accumulation of the heavy wet snow on trees and power lines resulted in widespread tree damage and power outages across many communities in central and western Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and northeastern Connecticut. This resulted in school closures and numerous towns cancelled or rescheduled Halloween and trick-or-treating activities. At the peak, 830,000 customers in Connecticut were without power. Throughout Connecticut, 164 AT&T cell phone towers were damaged resulting in degraded cell phone service until towers could be repaired and power restored.||Air travel in and around the Hartford area was disrupted when numerous flights were diverted to Bradley International Airport from the New York City metro area and then power outages affected the airport. Several airplanes were not able to allow their passengers to disembark for seven hours or more. ||A motorist in Hebron died in a car accident believed to be the result of the weather conditions.||The precipitation started as mainly snow early Saturday afternoon across the interior of southern New England, although a brief period of rain at the onset was common across the lower elevations. Several hours of heavy snow occurred from mid afternoon through late evening on Saturday October 29. Snowfall rates reached 3 inches per hour for several hours in the Berkshires and Monadnocks as a nearly stationary band of heavy snow set up across this region. The snow tapered off just after midnight Saturday night in western New England with the last of the precipitation exiting eastern New England Sunday morning. This storm also brought damaging winds to Cape Cod and the islands with wind gusts up to 70 mph occurring early Sunday morning October 30 as well as minor to moderate coastal flooding to east coastal Massachusetts during the high tide early Sunday morning.

Hurricane Irene formed east of the Caribbean island of Dominica, part of the Lesser Antilles region, on the afternoon of August 20. Irene moved through the Caribbean and up the east coast of the United States making landfall twice. She first made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane near Cape Lookout, North Carolina around 7:30am on August 27, then moved offshore again during the evening. She then made a 2nd landfall, again as a Category 1 Hurricane at 540am on August 28 near Little Egg Inlet in New Jersey. She moved over New York City and then into southeastern New York State and Connecticut as a Tropical Storm a few hours later. By the end of the evening of the 28th, Irene was crossing the U.S./Canada border having produced significant amounts of rain, storm surge, inland and coastal flooding, and wind damage across southern New England and much of the east coast of the United States. ||In Southern New England, the minimum surface pressure recorded was 976.9mb taken at Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts. The storm surge experienced along the coast was generally in the two to four foot range with a high of 4.78 feet at Fox Point in Providence, Rhode Island. The highest sustained windspeed was 54 knots (62 mph) at the Physical Oceanographic Real Time System station at Conimicut Light in Narragansett Bay, RI. The highest sustained wind speed on land was 38 knots (44 mph) recorded on the Automated Surface Observing Systems at both Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, MA (KHYA) and Logan International Airport in Boston, MA (KBOS). Rainfall amounts ranged from nearly zero (0.03 at Nantucket Memorial Airport - ACK) to nearly 10 inches (9.92 in Conway, MA). ||Despite the relatively low wind speeds, sustained winds over a 6 to 12 hour long duration resulted in widespread tree damage and resulted in power outages to roughly half a million customers throughout the state. Some of these customers did not get their power back until the Friday following the storm (some five days later). Durring the passage of Tropical Storm Irene, the winds resulted in $60M in property damages and inland flooding resulted in 1 fatality and $8M in property damages. ||Bunnell Brook in Burlington had its third worst flood on record. The Farmington River reached its highest levels since Tropical Storms Connie and Diane in 1955.||The collective effects of Tropical Storm Irene on August 28, resulted in 1 fatality, 0 injuries, and $127.3M in property damage in the following counties: Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester (all in MA), Hartford, Tolland, and Windham (all in CT), Cheshire and Hillsborough (all in NH), and Bristol, Providence, Kent, Washington, and Newport (all in RI).

A powerful low pressure system tracked through eastern New York spreading heavy rain and strong winds across Southern New England. Heavy rain coinciding with spring snowmelt contributed to river flooding, especially along the Connecticut River. In addition, rainfall totals of two to three inches resulted in areal flooding across much of the region.

Low pressure moved up the Atlantic coast and spread snow across southern New England. Heavy snow fell across much of northern Connecticut, downing trees and power lines.

Cold air surging into southern New England in the wake of a departing storm brought damaging winds to much of northern Connecticut. Trained spotters and amateur radio operators reported many instances of downed trees and power lines, some of which blocked roadways.

An isolated severe thunderstorm brought damaging winds and urbanized flash flooding to Simsbury, causing about one third of the town to lose power.The storm, which caused little damage in surrounding towns, toppled trees and snapped branches, particularly in the center of town. Route 10 near Plank Hill Road was blocked after trees fell, causing major traffic delays during the evening rush hour. Other major problem areas were the intersection of Bushy Hill Road and West Street, and Route 10 near Pine Hill Road. About 3,500 customers were left without power.Torrential rainfall of nearly 2 inches in 30 minutes produced urbanized flash flooding in downtown Simsbury, around Hop Meadow Street to West Street and Route 167.

Severe thunderstorms brought damaging winds and large hail to portions of northern Connecticut.The storms initially downed trees onto power lines on Sharon Lane in Glastonbury, then weakened as they reached the Tolland County border. Other thunderstorms quickly became severe in western Windham County, and produced significant wind damage from Ashford to Woodstock. Large trees were brought down onto wires on Route 74 in Ashford, and a picnic pavilion collapsed as Camp Conway. No injuries were reported.In Woodstock, wind damage became more widespread. State Police reported that a two mile stretch of Route 169 was closed due to numerous trees down on the roadway. Power lines were also brought down in this area. Amateur radio operators estimated wind gusts as high as 70 mph. The storms also produced nickel to quarter sized hail.

An intensifying low pressure system moved across the Great Lakes and into Quebec, producing strong damaging winds across north central and northeast Connecticut on 18 January 2006. These strong winds brought down numerous trees, limbs, and wires across the region, and they were accompanied by heavy rain showers. In addition, many electric customers lost power during the storm.Sustained wind speeds reached 44 MPH in Hartford at 9:37 AM and 36 MPH in Willimantic at 11:33 AM. In addition, winds gusts to as high as 58 MPH in Hartford and Windham counties. The storm brought down trees and wires on the corner of Orhard Hill Drive and Foster Street in South Windsor. Also, trees and wires were brought down in Ellington, Tolland, West Hartford, Plainfield, Pomfret, and in Thompson.No known injuries directly resulted from this storm.

An intensifying area of low pressure passing south of New England and into the Gulf of Maine produced a wintry mix of precipitation and gusty northeast winds across north central and Northeast Connecticut during the morning of 15 January 2006. Generally, between 2 and 3 inches of snow fell. This heavy, wet snow, combined with gusty northeast winds, brought down tree limbs and power lines across the region. No known injuries directly related from this winter storm.

A strong coastal storm (i.e. a nor'easter) entrained with energy and moisture from the remnants of Wilma brought rainfall amounts between 2 and 2.5 inches and damaging winds to portions of north central and northeast Connecticut. The high winds brought down limbs, trees, and wires, resulting in scattered power outages in Wethersfield, Pomfret, and Ashford. No known injuries directly resulted from this nor'easter.

A powerful cold front with a sharp temperature gradient moved across Connecticut during the late morning hours of 29 September 2005. This cold front produced high winds that caused power outages, and knocked down trees, limbs, power poles, and wires across the region. Hartford county received the most wind damage from this event.Wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph were common during this event. These high winds brought down trees, large limbs, and wires in Manchester, which caused Middle Turnpike to close. Also in Manchester, a large oak tree fell down across a house. Wires were reported down on Route 32 in Mansfield, and wires were also reported down along Route 44 in Coventry. No known injuries directly resulted from this high wind event.

A hot and humid airmass combined with an approaching cold front sparked strong to severe thunderstorms across southern New Hampshire during the late afternoon and early evening hours of 27 July. These thunderstorms produced severe winds, damaging lightning, and flash flooding across north central and northeast Connecticut, especially Hartford county.The severe winds produced from these thunderstorms brought trees, utility poles, and power lines down. In Hebron, approximately 40 trees were knocked down as these storms pushed through the area. Lightning and flash flooding were also produced from these storms. In Hartford, lightning destroyed a wooden shed. In East Hartford, flash flooding left cars stranded on a road.No injuries directly resulted from these strong to severe thunderstorms.

A line of thunderstorms produced severe wind gusts across northern Connecticut during the evening hours of 22 July. These severe wind gusts knocked down trees and caused power outages across Enfield and Somers. No injuries directly resulted from these thunderstorms.

Severe thunderstorms brought down power lines in Southington, igniting several house fires. In Bloomfield, a large branch was blown through a porch window, power lines were also blown down.

Low pressure quickly strengthened as it passed south of New England and brought a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to much of interior southern New England. North central Connecticut was especially hard hit by freezing rain, where as much as one half inch of glaze brought down trees, tree limbs and power lines. There was no estimate of how many customers lost power, but dozens of accidents were reported as a result of icy roads.

Severe thunderstorms moved across north central Connecticut during the afternoon and evening. There were numerous reports of penny to nickel sized hail in Hartford and Tolland Counties, but hail as large as ping pong balls was observed in Farmington and Plainville. No damage was reported as a result of the large hail.In addition, thunderstorm wind gusts estimated to nearly 60 mph downed small trees along Main Street in Manchester, and downed several trees onto power lines in Mansfield.

Low pressure moving through the St. Lawrence valley brought high winds to much of southern New England. In northern Connecticut, peak wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were widely reported, which downed trees and power lines, and disrupted electric service to about 2,500 customers.In Cromwell, a large tree fell on a car and caused minor injuries to the driver.

A severe thunderstorm downed power lines and caused minor flooding in southern Hartford County. Plainville was hardest hit, with nearly 3,600 customers left without power. Another 3,000 customers in Bristol and New Britain also lost power because of the storm. Some area roads also experienced minor flooding.

A slow moving severe thunderstorm produced penny sized hail in Enfield and Manchester. The storm then dumped 3 to 4 inches of rain in Bloomfield, West Hartford, and Hartford in less than one hour. This resulted in flash flooding on Beamans Brook in Bloomfield, and significant urban flooding in West Hartford and Hartford. Dozens of cars were submerged in flood waters and several people needed to be rescued. The north end of West Hartford along Trout Brook Drive was hardest hit, along with the neighborhood surrounding Bloomfield High School. There were no injuries reported.Lightning from the storm struck several houses in West Hartford causing minor damage. Power was briefly knocked out in West Hartford and Windsor, cutting off service to thousands of customers.

Strong winds brought down power lines and knocked out electrical service to customers in Avon, Canton, and Simsbury. In all, about 6,000 customers were left without power.

A powerful winter storm tracked south of New England and dumped heavy snow over northern Connecticut. Totals of 6 to 10 inches were common in Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties. Aside from scattered power outages and dozens of minor accidents, little significant impact occurred from the storm since most residents avoided travel. No injuries or damage was directly attributable to the storm.Officially, the storm total at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks was 7.6 inches. Other snowfall totals as reported by trained spotters include 10 inches in Granby and Thompson; 9 inches in Burlington and East Hartford; 8 inches in Wethersfield, West Hartford, Windsor Center, and Killingly; 7 inches in South Windsor, Storrs, and Ashford; and 6 inches in Newington, Glastonbury, Andover, and Pomfret.

A major ice storm caused significant damage in north central Connecticut. There were numerous reports of downed trees, limbs, and power lines as a result of one-half to three-quarters of an inch of icing. An estimated 100,000 customers in Hartford and Tolland Counties were left without power because of the storm.Damage was especially severe in western Hartford County, where entire communities such as Hartland, Granby, Simsbury, and Canton were left without power for as much as five days. Sections of Canton were completely isolated due to downed trees and wires, according to local police. In Burlington, widespread damage was reported. Trees crashed down on cars, punched through picture windows, ripped off electrical wires, stripped gutters, and shattered chimneys. Downed trees blocked roads in Bristol. The damage from the ice storm was compounded by high winds one day later. Gusts as high as 50 mph hampered the cleanup effort, downing more trees and branches which were weighted down by ice. Total damage from the storm in Hartford County was estimated at two million dollars.The damage was less severe in neighboring Tolland County, but there were still many reports of downed trees, limbs, and wires countywide. Total damage was estimated at half a million dollars.

Severe thunderstorms moved through much of northern Connecticut during the afternoon and evening. There were many reports of downed trees, large branches, and power lines, especially in Hartford County. Thunderstorm winds blew out windows from a building in West Suffield, according to amateur radio operators.

Severe thunderstorms produced isolated damage in Hartford County. In West Hartford, one tree and wires were reported downed by thunderstorm winds. In Hartford, several large trees were uprooted and power poles were snapped. In western Tolland County, the same thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 64 mph in Bolton.

Severe thunderstorms produced nickel-sized hail in Simsbury. Lightning struck the roof of a three-story house in Hartford, sparking a fire, and other lightning strikes caused more than 18,000 electric customers to lose power.

A major winter storm impacted northern Connecticut with heavy snow and strong winds. The slow-moving storm, which tracked south of New England, dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow across Hartford, Tolland, and Windham counties and knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers. Schools and businesses were shut down for three days in some communities. Officially, Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks reported a storm total of 9.9 inches. Other reports from Hartford County include 15 inches in Farmington, 14 inches in East Windsor, Burlington, and Wethersfield, 13 inches in Glastonbury, and 12 inches in Manchester. In Tolland County, 16 inches of snow fell in Stafford, 15 inches in Tolland, 14 inches in Vernon, and 11 inches in Mansfield. In Windham County, East Killingly reported 15 inches, Andover 13 inches, and Putnam, Willimantic, and Pomfret all had 12 inches of snow.

A major winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to northern Connecticut. The highest snowfall totals, between 12 and 24 inches, were reported in Hartford County. Totals of 12 to 18 inches were widely observed in Tolland and Windham Counties. Several minor accidents were attributed to the storm, and traffic in greater Hartford was brought to a standstill during the height of the storm. Several thousand electric customers were left without power.

A rapidly strengthening low pressure system west of New England brought a period of damaging southerly winds to northern Connecticut, as lines of showers passed through southern New England. Following the passage of a strong cold front in the afternoon, increasing northwest winds caused additional damage. Peak wind gusts of nearly 60 mph were common in Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties. There were several reports of downed trees and wires, and several thousand electric customers were left without power.

A pair of severe thunderstorms caused extensive wind damage in Hartford County. The most significant damage occurred in Farmington and New Britain where thunderstorm winds downed over one hundred trees. Nearly 88,000 electric customers from Canton to West Hartford and Newington were left without power. Six people were hurt by flying debris when the storms ripped through the Farmington Polo Grounds, where an antique fair was being held. Two others were injured in New Britain when they were pinned in their cars by fallen trees.

A deep low pressure system moving across southern Canada, combined with high pressure off the southeast coast, brought gusty southwest winds to the higher terrain of Hartford County. Wind gusts were estimated near 60 mph. The high winds downed trees and power lines in Hartford and Enfield. A 5-year old boy in Hartford was injured when he became trapped beneath a falling tree.