rachel lutzker

Let's sing to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Here comes freezing rain, here comes freezing rain, throughout the state Monday."

Freezing rain started falling in Connecticut just before 4 p.m. on Sunday in what appeared to be an appetizer to a larger storm moving from the Great Lakes and combining with another off the coast.

24/7 Updates On Eyewitness News NOW
Winter Guide | LIVE Pinpoint Doppler

Tens of thousands of Connecticut Light and Power customers lost power as freezing rain solidified on tree limbs, roads and sidewalks.

CL&P opened its emergency operations center in Berlin at about 7 a.m., at which time, more than 17,000 customers lost power. Within the hour, the number of outages increased to more than 25,300 customers, mostly centered in the Southington, Newington, Guilford, Windsor and Meriden areas.

Two hours later, CL&P reported more than 31,400 outages, mostly concentrated in East Hartford, Southington, Guilford and Windsor, with several thousand outages. Waterbury, Meriden, Ledyard, Hartford and Newington had more than 1,000 outages at 11 a.m. The number of outages reduced to just short of 26,000 after noon and continued to drop thereafter.

By 2 p.m., the number of power outages significantly dropped to more than 9,000 customers. Two hours later, crews were able to get most customers back up and running, with just more than 1,000 customers still in the dark.

Utility crews have been dispatched to at least 200 spots statewide to check up on calls for power problems. Eyewitness News crews spotted dozens of trees and wires down in Southington.

Power Outages Close Some Schools

Almost every school system statewide delayed classes on Monday morning. Later in the morning, power outages forced some individual schools to close, including:

Meriden's Platt High School
Southington's Strong, Flanders and South End elementary schools
Cheshire's Doolittle Elementary School
Avon's Pine Grove Elementary School, closing at 11:50 a.m.
West Hartford's Norfeldt Elementary School, closing at 1 p.m.

Other schools in the districts remain open. Ledyard High School had announced an early dismissal, but canceled that decision at about 11:50 a.m. because power was restored. As a result, Ledyard will dismiss per normal schedule.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Eric Parker reported some Platt students who otherwise anticipated a delay due to the freezing rain were surprised by the closure. Platt's power was restored just before 11:30 a.m., but by that time, the school had already dismissed.

"Ice began weighing down trees and tree branches, and that began to effect service throughout the state," CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said.

Freezing Rain Followed By Wind

Freezing rain fell during the early-morning hours, especially in the northern part of the state. Shoreline temperatures rose above freezing in many areas by 7 a.m., Channel 3 Early Warning Weather meteorologists Darren Sweeney and Melissa Cole reported.

A winter weather advisory issued last week for Sunday into Monday was scaled back as the storm moved through the state. The National Weather Service issued ice storm warnings overnight, which were canceled as temperatures rose along the shoreline and then further inland.

Refresh wfsb.com/weather and watch Channel 3 Eyewitness News for the latest updates in the Early Warning Forecast.

This picture comes from Eyewitness News viewer Craig in Winsted.

The heaviest precipitation ended Monday morning, but light freezing rain and drizzle persisted for a few hours.

"The precipitation will taper off to a few rain and snow showers Monday afternoon, but west to northwest winds should get quite gusty," Sweeney said.

A concern for more power outages on Tuesday remains as a wind advisory is in effect for much of the state. Wind gusts could reach 40 mph to over 50 mph.

Ice Causes Crashes Sunday Into Monday

Don't be confused that you don't see anything falling from the sky, because it's all about what fell overnight.

"There was a sheet of ice on (my car); It took me 15 to 20 minutes to scrape it off," said Nicole Viets, of Windsor, who works the third shift at the Denny's in Enfield.

"I saw a couple accidents. It was very, very slippery out," said Kristina Hayden, of Enfield, who works the third shift at the Denny's in Enfield. "I almost fell, actually, down the driveway, coming out."

Channel 3 Pinpoint Traffic reporter Rachel Lutzker reported several crashes throughout state roadways early Monday morning. Some included spots on Interstate 91 in the Windsor Locks and Cromwell areas; Interstate 691 in both directions in the Cheshire-Meriden area.

One of the more troubled spots was Route 8, where several crashes were reported in both directions between exits 37 and 41 in the Thomaston, Watertown and Waterbury areas.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Katy Zachry reported several cars collided on westbound Interstate 84 near exit 44 in Hartford late Sunday evening ( More).

"Everyone's driving slowly and cautiously, they have their emergency lights on to let you know they're going slowly," said Faraz Rahman, of Rocky Hill.

Authorities reported receiving a flood of emergency calls early Sunday evening. State troopers shut down a portion of Interstate 95 in Guilford on Sunday after a multi-car collision. In Plainville, police responded to a crash that possibly resulted from black ice.

"(Sunday) night was very slippery. About 11 o'clock at night, I was out. That's when everybody started slipping off the roads," said Scott Bates, a tow truck driver in Ashford.

Looking Ahead ...