National Weather Service Forecast:
A Flood Watch has been issued for Friday into early Saturday for potential flooding of rivers, streams, creeks, as well as urban poor drainage flooding.
A Wind Advisory has been issued for late Thursday through Friday. Sustained winds of 16-21 mph and Peak wind gusts of 38-40 mph are being currently forecast for our area. Winds of this magnitude may lead to downed limbs and power lines causing hazardous road conditions and power outages. Please see the 48-hour weather forecast graph below.
Temperatures are forecast to plummet to approx. 9 degrees overnight Friday leading to flash freeze conditions and hazardous travel conditions on untreated surfaces.
Wind Chill Advisory has been issued from 7 PM Friday to 12 PM Saturday.
Civil Preparedness Office:
Civil Preparedness is receiving twice daily weather briefings from the National Weather Service and weather briefings from DEMHS every two hours These briefings are being forwarded to the Town Manager, Dept. of Public Works, Water and Sewer Depts., Police, and Fire Depts,to maintain situational awareness, and aid in decision making regarding potential weather hazards that may occur and how they will be handled.
Civil Preparedness is in contact with DEMHS Region 5 by phone and radio and they are standing by to assist with any request for assistance from town.
Eversource is currently reporting approx. 1613 customers without power in town. We are in contact with our Eversource community liaison who reports there are crews in town working on restoration. Eversource EOC in operational and out of state crews have arrived in state to assist in restoration.
Most outages appear to be in the Winsted section of town. Main Street has power which includes the gas station convenience stores and Stop & Shop. If power is lost to this area the following locations have generator power capabilities. Henny Penny gas station, Stop and Shop, Ace Hardware on Main Street, and George’s gas station on Route 44 in Norfolk.
At this time conditions will continue to be monitored and if conditions require opening of the two emergency shelters at the Winsted Senior Center 80 Holabird Ave and the Winchester Grange 100 Newfield Road then arrangements will be made to staff the shelters with assistance from the Red Cross.
Public Safety Departments:
Winchester Police, Winsted Fire, Winchester Fire, and Department of Public Works have all been kept informed of the weather briefings and are preparing for response to any hazardous conditions that may develop during the storm.
Winsted Fire Dept has been responding to numerous reports of trees and limbs on wires.
At this time the only road closures are Forest Avenue due to a tree down in the road, and Colebrook River Road just north of Riverton Road due to an MVA blocking the road.
Winsted and Winchester Fire Departments will put out extension cords to be used for charging of cell phones and other portable electronic devices if there is extended power outages because of the storm.
Severe Cold Weather Protocol:
The Severe Cold Weather Protocol will take effect on Friday Dec. 23rd at 6 PM and end on Monday Dec. 26rth at 12 PM. A list of warming centers is posted on the Town of Winchester Website.
Communication with the Public:
Several documents have been posted on the town website to aid residents in making preparations for the storm.
Press releases will continue to be posted to the town website, the Civil Preparedness Facebook and Twitter pages, and the Next-Door social media site, if electrical power and the Internet remain operational.
Press releases will be sent to WZBG radio station 97.3 FM, and WFSB, WVIT, WTNH, and WTIC Fox 61 televisions stations.
Press releases will also be posted at town hall on the front door and in the lobby of the police station the Winsted Fire Dept headquarters at 27 Elm Street and the Winchester Fire Dept headquarters at 100 Newfield Road if power is out for an extended period.
The town may also utilize our portable message board that we will place at Eastend Park if needed to communicate short messages to the public on opening of emergency shelters, warming centers, locations of charging stations, and locations to obtain potable water.
Steven Williams
Emergency Management Director
James Lagassie
Acting Emergency Management Director
Town of Winchester
