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First Nor'easter Of The Year Brings Heavy Snow, Wind To Connecticut

Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
A family boards a Hartford bus in the snow Thursday morning.

The first snowstorm of 2018 has brought heavy amounts of snow and strong winds to much of Connecticut Thursday.

Most of the state received around a foot of snow. Snowfall began in the early morning and continued into the night.

Nonessential state employees were directed to not report to work and schools across the state were closed for the day. Some districts announced closures on Friday too.

But Governor Dannel Malloy did not issue a highway travel ban.

"What you don’t want to do on an interstate highway is to cause a backup into another state that would endanger folks in that state and quite frankly prevent emergency vehicles from getting in and out of our own state," Malloy said.

Bradley International Airport is open, and as of Thursday afternoon, said approximately 75 percent of flights were canceled.

Snow wasn't the only threat. Officials warned of strong winds that could down tree limbs and cause power outages.

“This could turn from a minor event for most of the state to a major event for most of the state,” Malloy said Wednesday evening. “But clearly, the winds are going to be a factor.”

Credit Ryan Caron King / WNPR
/
WNPR
David Ray of West Hartford waits to take the bus to his job at Lincoln Financial Group. He says the snowy roads and the winter weather don't bother him too much -- just the strong wind.

Malloy warned shoreline residents, particularly in eastern Connecticut, that they might be without power for an extended period of time. The bucket trucks used by utility workers cannot be safely used in strong winds.

"It would be unfair to expect that anyone would go up in a bucket truck in a life-endangering situation," Malloy said at a media briefing Thursday morning.

WNPR’s Frankie Graziano, Lori Mack, and Jeff Cohen contributed to this report.

Tucker Ives is WNPR's morning news producer.

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