'A Simple New England Snowstorm' [UPDATE]

Updated 10:15 a.m., March 8:

Greenwich Emergency Management Director Dan Warzoha said the town remains “in full mode … we’ve got all our crews out clearing roads and sidewalks.”

He said, “The main roads are pretty good shape. The secondary and tertiary roads need cleanup. The superintendent  made a wise call to cancel school. It was not safe for early morning travel.” Indicative of the treacherous road conditions, two Greenwich Police cars were damaged in crashes, and a Greenwich Department of Public Works truck struck a stone wall, Warzoha confirmed.

“The big thing is the bulk of snow will be done by noon time. But then we’ll be dealing with blowing winds and snow,” Warzoha said. As of 10:10 a.m., there weren’t any power outages reported in Greenwich, according to the Connecticut Light & Power website. Earlier Friday morning there were about 186 Greenwich customers without service, Warzoha said.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Let Patch save you time. Get stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

And Warzoha said there weren’t any issues with coastal flooding during the high tide cycles Thursday night or Friday morning.

Warzoha said there hasn’t been a need to activate the town’s Emergency Operations Center. “There’s no power outages, no basic unmet needs. We’re operating as a simple New England snowstorm…and I like it that way.”

Original story:

The blanket of heavy, wet snow that's expected to continue throughout the day on Friday, is causing hazardous travel conditions.

At least 3 to 4 inches of snow has fallen in the southwestern area of Greenwich as of 5:30 a.m. All Greenwich public and private schools have been closed. And in the case of Brunswick School and Greenwich Academy, the cancellation of clases gave students a jump start on their spring break.

However, for Greenwich Public School students, the snow day means the spring recess will be cut short by a day. According to a school calendar revision approved by the Board of Education on Nov. 15, 2012, spring recess now will be April 15 through April 18, with classes resuming April 19. (Please see attached school calendar.)

According to the National Weather Service, a winter weather advisory remains in effect until noon. There are numerous reports accidents and stranded cars in town, according to Greenwich Police scanner reports.

The large winter storm is slowly moving away from the Northeast coast will continue to bring a plethora of hazards to the Northeast through early Saturday, according to the NWS. Strong winds, high waves and coastal flooding will impact the coast from New Jersey to Maine, while heavy snow is forecast across inland locations.

There's a coastal flooding advisory with tides expected to be 2 to 2 1/2 feet above astronomical high tides in western Long Island Sound, according to the weather service. High tide in Greenwich will be at 8:08 a.m. Friday.

Here is the latest NWS forecast:

• Today Snow before 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. High near 38. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
• Tonight Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 25. Blustery, with a north wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
• Saturday Sunny, with a high near 47. North wind 10 to 13 mph.
• Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.