Winter Storm Brenda resulted in some power outages Tuesday, with a winter advisory remaining in effect through Wednesday.
Eversource's outage map showed, as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, that 5,245 customers out of the 1,296,155 in Connecticut, or 0.40%, were without power.
"The combination of heavy wet snow, long duration sustained winds, long duration gusts, will almost certainly bring down tree limbs and even entire trees," Eversource CT President Steve Sullivan said. "Those will damage the electric system.”
In the local area, this included 10 outages in New Britain and fewer than 2 in both Bristol and Plymouth. No power outages were reported in Plainville, Southington, Newington or Berlin.
WFSB Meteorologists Scot Haney and Jill Gilardi gave an update on the storm Tuesday morning. The snow totals are expected to be between 8 and 16 inches in Northeast and Northwest Connecticut, 2 to 4 inches in Central Connecticut and 1 to 2 inches at the shoreline.
A winter storm warning is in effect in Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties. A winter weather advisory is in effect in Northern New Haven and Fairfield counties through Wednesday morning.
"A couple miles in one direction changes one precipitation type to another," Gilardi said. "We're expecting some road issues to probably develop across that advisory area - especially later today when things start to switch over to all snow. They're not too bad right now, but winds will gradually increase with the storm through tomorrow. We're already seeing those power outages rapidly climbing."
Haney said "things are only going to get worse before they get better" in some areas.
"The storm is ramping up right now, but it will be done by daybreak tomorrow," he said.
WFSB continued to forecast heavy, wet snow, winds of 40 miles per hour and coastal flooding on the shoreline. The roadways, Haney said, could experience poor visibility and slick travel conditions.
"Be careful out there," Haney said.
Over the course of the day Tuesday, rain will transition to snow from North to South. At times, there will be lulls in the precipitation. But, it will become all snow statewide through the afternoon hours, with bands of heavier snow that could reduce visibility. Wednesday could potentially see "lingering flurries" early in the day before the snowstorm comes to an end.
Haney said that Thursday and Friday, however, will be "much better" with temperatures of 50 degrees expected on both days.
Bradley International Airport remained open Tuesday, though approximately 15% of flights were canceled.
Gov. Ned Lamont enacted a ban on tandem tractor trailers and empty tractor trailers from traveling on Interstate 84 effective at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. This is being done in coordination with New York, which has implemented a similar travel ban.
“During peak periods of this storm, we are expecting to see very strong wind gusts and heavy wet snow in the northern region of the state, particularly along the I-84 corridor,” Lamont said. “This storm is unique for our small state in that some areas are expected to receive a significant impact and in other regions it may be less severe. I encourage everyone to stay alert for weather updates and take caution if you need to travel.”