Reports of power outages across the state were spreading Wednesday morning as ice weighed down on utility wires.

Connecticut Light & Power was reporting more than 14,000 outages in its coverage area at 6:30 p.m., with many located in New London County. The most outages, according to the company, were in Newtown, Danbury and New Fairfield. More than 3,000 outages were also reported in Danbury.

Bruce's 3 p.m. Weather Update

United Illuminating was reporting 643 customers without power at 6:30 p.m. The majority of the utility's outages were reported in Trumbull and Shelton.

Reports of outages were expected to increase throughout the day as ice weighed down on utility wires.

Drivers who ventured out Wednesday morning were met by ice-crusted roads and trees glistening beneath street lights.

For people in Torrington who still had to work despite the weather said getting packages delivered on time and getting to work on time wasn't easy.

“It was pretty much a sloppy mess,” Torrington resident Mark Ollero said. “The roads weren't plowed.”

He said he only had to drive a few miles to get to the Target in Torrington. But by the time he’d scraped the ice off of his car, he said, a new layer had formed.

“I came out here from my half-hour break from work and I decided to let it warm up,” Ollero said.
Those working because of the storm, such as those plowing and sanding, said they ran into problems as well.

“It's a mess,” said Guy Blauvelt, of Pro Excavation. “It's heavy. The rain is what's messing it up. The snow would have been a lot easier.”

Because the rain makes it harder to clean up the wintry mess, Blauvelt said he’s expecting to work a 12-hour day. He said he started at about 4:30 or 5 a.m.

State police said they had responded to scattered reports of spin-outs and minor crashes, including a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Interstate 91 in Wallingford. The jackknifed truck led to all but one southbound lane being closed at exit 13. Read full story

ConnDOT officials said that another tractor-trailer had slid off the eastbound side of Interstate 84 in Ashford Wednesday morning. They said the truck went off the road between exits 71 and 72. No lanes were closed.

In Prospect, a man and his son who were cleaning off their cars were struck my a falling tree limb. Read The Full Story

The Department of Transportation said that its entire fleet of 632 trucks was on the roads Wednesday morning.

Bradley International Airport said it had several flights that had been canceled and delayed, but that the airport remained open. Airport officials recommended that travelers check the status of their flight before arriving at the airport.

Hundreds of schools and organizations were reporting delays or closings on Wednesday morning. By 8 a.m., nearly 800 closings and delays had been reported. Get a full list of closings and delays

Alex Walsh, of West Hartford, said he’s one of the lucky ones. He said he called ahead to see if his flight to Florida had been canceled, but it wasn’t.

However, he said, he’s still a bit worried.

“I am a little bit, but I think because it’s slushy it will take off today,” he said.

To read Scot, Mark and Bruce's detailed forecast, check out the Technical Discussion.