TOLLAND, Conn. — As a front sweeps across the state Friday morning, the wind that is coming with it is causing headaches in some parts of the state.
Around 11 a.m. Eversource reported over 7,000 outages, the bulk of which were in Mansfield, Tolland, and New Hartford. That number remained about the same early Friday afternoon.
As the cold front made its way across the state, it brought winds from the northwest from 15 to 25 mph, gusting at times to over 40-45 mph.
There is a Wind Advisory out across Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland, and Windham counties until 7 p.m.
Coventry schools confirmed that due to its power issues, the middle and high schools were released early. Eversource reported over 400 power outages for the town just before 11 a.m.
Tolland Town Manager Brian Foley said ice coating the trees since Thursday, combined with the wind gusts, was causing multiple downed trees and electrical wires. Fire and public works personnel responded and closed several roads, including Crystal Lake, Timber Trail, Old Post and more.
“In some places, you drive down the trees, debris and the ice that's covered on the road is just, it's like a war zone and on this side of town, you know it's quiet,” Foley said.
He said emergency crews are fully staffed and the town is working closely with Eversource to resolve outages, which residents are grateful for.
“It's very cold and windy and no lights,” said Tolland resident Hilem Martinez.
The icy lines and downed trees lead to power outages for more than a thousand Tolland residents, like Martinez.
“This is going to be the first time I lose power, so I didn't expect it,” she said. “But it's the wind I guess.”
She said by Friday afternoon, her power was already back on. However, Tolland is not out of the woods just yet.
“We're hoping there's not a lot of more problems,” Foley said. “We do see some wind gusts picking up later. We’re monitoring and keeping our fingers crossed that the weather improves going through the night.”
Foley said most outage issues should be resolved and roads reopened by Friday evening, but they’ll continue tracking weather throughout the night and remain staffed if conditions worsen again.
By this evening, the wind chill will be in the teens and single digits. Actual air temperatures drop into the teens statewide by Saturday morning.
Saturday will be quite cold, especially considering how mild this winter has been. We'll have a little sun in the morning; then, it will be fairly cloudy with flurries or a couple of snow showers.
Check the full forecast here.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.