Blizzard Watch Issued for Middletown

By Julie Weisberg

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for Middletown as a powerful winter storm is expected to affect the region starting Thursday night and lasting into Saturday morning.

The blizzard watch is in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon.

The heaviest snowfall will be Friday evening, according to an NBC Connecticut, with blizzard conditions likely. "Most of inland Connecticut will see 15 inches of snow or more," it says.

The storm system will bring with it heavy snow, sleet and damaging winds — with gusts blowing up in excess of 60 miles per hour.

The high winds and heavy snow is expected to make for at times white out conditions, with visibility reduced to less than a quarter of a mile.

"The heavy snow will make for dangers driving conditions," the weather service meteorologists report in their alert. "In addition, the heavy snow and strong winds will result in blizzard conditions, bringing down some tree limbs and causing scattered power outages."

"A blizzard watch means there is a potential for falling and/or blowing snow with strong winds and extremely poor visibilities. This can lead to whiteout conditions and make travel very dangerous," according to the NWS.

A winter storm watch that had been issued earlier this week has now been cancelled, with the blizzard watch issued in its place.