HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Department of Transportation announced that several roads were closed and urged residents to take precautions.

DOT officials said all lanes in both directions of Route 25 at Route 111, in Trumbull, were closed due to flooding and estimated it would take 12 to 24 hours to clear the lanes.

Officials warned motorists to take caution when attempting to travel along roadways that are underwater. They said often the water is deeper than expected and the road may be damaged beneath.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell Sunday afternoon joined a conference call with state agency officials, municipal leaders and emergency management chiefs from coastal communities to update them on weather conditions and likely developments as a spring nor'easter continued to soak Connecticut.

Earlier Sunday, the governor ordered the Emergency Operations Center at the Hartford Armory to move from stand-by to full activation. At 1 p.m., representatives of the Departments of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Public Safety, Environmental Protection and Transportation and the National Guard joined the governor on the conference call, briefed her on the storm's progress and outlined the expected weather conditions into Sunday night.

"I have told city and town officials that the state will provide them any assistance they need," Rell said. "We will also be keeping them updated -- every hour -- on the weather conditions, including how the tides are looking and what the rainfall level has been. None of our state agencies are reporting any major problems right now. But we know storms like this must be watched carefully and that's exactly what we are doing.

"The Emergency Operations Center will remain open through the night as this storm progresses," the governor said. "We think the worst of the storm -- at least in terms of rain and high winds -- is likely to arrive in the evening, when wind speeds will be at their highest. High tides are expected between 9:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. along the Long Island Sound coastline, and while the tides should be lower than in the 1992 and '93 nor'easters there will still be water in low-lying areas."

The EOC is also monitoring power outages, which are a particular risk because trees are more easily uprooted when the ground is heavily saturated with rain.

Stay tuned for Team Coverage after the storm.