Thousands of people were without power early Monday morning as the blizzard officially began.
As of 2 a.m., Eversource’s outage map reported nearly 4,000 customers were without power. The largest numbers are found in parts of Naugatuck Valley, Beacon Falls and Burlington. More than 1,000 customers each were without power in Bethany and Seymour, according to brief reports, but power appears to have been restored.
Along the coast, East Lyme and nearby Waterford and Guildford were hardest hit. The area is expected to be among the worst hit by the storm, as the combination of heavy wet snow and high winds will make roads impassable and potentially down trees and power lines.
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United Illuminating, which serves New Haven and a small portion of the state’s western region, reported minimal outages as of 2 a.m.
With more outages possible and weather conditions expected to get worse in the morning, Eversource told customers they may have to wait before power is restored. While more than 700 crews are ready, many traveling from out of state, the utility said blizzard conditions will also make those crews’ jobs difficult.
High snowfall rates will make it difficult for plows to keep roads clear enough for Eversource trucks to travel, while high winds throughout the day could make it dangerous for workers to get out of bed to repair lines.
An Eversource spokesman said Sunday that this will be a multi-day restoration operation and some areas may be without power until Tuesday.
