It broke records, closed schools — and claimed at least two fingers.
A major winter storm dumped anywhere from 14 to 20 inches in the lower Valley in about 12 hours Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
The inch counts varied wildly, thanks to snow drifts, old snow on the ground — and who you were asking.
In Derby, the Valley Indy measured 14 inches on Hawthorne Avenue after the storm ended. However, other readers reported numbers as high as 18 inches.
In Seymour, the official number from the state was 20 inches.
As much as 20 inches was reported in Huntington. Oxford topped off at 18 inches, according to our readers, while Ansonia hovered around the 15 inch mark.
More importantly, the storm — which Gov. Dannel Malloy said set a state record for the most amount of snow in the fastest period of time — stretched local plow crews to their absolute limit.
In Derby — where school will NOT open Thursday — Public Works Director Ron Culmo said the public — including private plow drivers — kept throwing the snow back into the roads after the city plowed.
Roads where residents piled snow in the road included General Wooster Drive, Commodore Hull Drive, High Street, East Hawkins Street and some of the side streets around Hawkins Street.
They are constantly throwing the snow back into the middle of the roads and we plow it again and they do it all over again,” Culmo said in an e‑mail.
Derby police were too busy to issue tickets to all the Derby residents who were violating local snow rules, Culmo said.
The Valley Indy had a live chat on the website from about 10 p.m. Tuesday until 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Here are some storm highlights:
TUESDAY
9:54 p.m. — First flakes start falling.
10 p.m. — Gov. Dannel Malloy activates the State Emergency Operations Center and declares a “civil preparedness” emergency.
10:18 p.m. – 10:22 p.m. — Schools begin canceling classes.
WEDNESDAY
12:45 a.m. — VIDEO, Hawthorne Avenue in Derby:
1 a.m. — Just over 1 inch of snow is on the ground in Derby.
1:01 a.m. – 6:27 a.m. — WTNH meteorologist Gil Simmons sends out 60 weather related Tweets, retaining his title as Weather Iron Man.
6:28 a.m. — Nine inches on the ground in Derby.
6:33 a.m. — State police report that there have been 21 accidents on state roads since the storm started. Four of those accidents involved injuries. One person charged with driving drunk.
6:36 a.m. — 15 inches on the ground in Seymour.
6:45 a.m. — VIDEO, Shelton and Derby road conditions:
6:54 a.m. — VIDEO, Route 34 in Derby in the area of Chapel Street:
7:49 a.m. — Derby DPW Director Ron Culmo asks residents to stay off Derby roads until at least noon. Disabled vehicles are preventing plows from doing their jobs.
8:18 a.m. — Seymour receives an inch of snow in 15 minutes.
9:45 a.m. VIDEO, Ansonia and Derby road conditions:
9:52 a.m. — Oxford firefighters sent to house on Sioux Lane where the weight of the snow is thought to be separating a deck from a house. Firefighters check it out, determine no immediate threat, notify the building inspector.
9:55 a.m. — Storm starts to let up. Back to flurries in most of the area. For the most part, STORM’S OVER! We survived!
10:03 a.m. — Reader reports snow drifts two feet tall in Ansonia.
10:30 a.m. — Storm Engine members start digging out fire hydrants in Derby.
10:22 a.m. — VIDEO, Derby police stop at ATV rider on Main Street for allegedly running a red light. Watch police about to ticket him at 10 seconds in:
10:38 a.m. — In Ansonia, a Hodge Avenue resident loses part of his finger in a snow blower.
12:04 p.m. — Gov. Malloy, during a live press conference, urges motorists to stay off the roads. Says it’s a good day to exchange recipes on the Internet and eat soup (note — he was joking).
12:27 p.m. — Oxford First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers tells us an Oxford resident accidentally sliced finger in a snow blower. She also urges residents to stay off the roads.
12:50 p.m. — VIDEO, David Humphreys Road in Derby:
1:06 p.m. — Derby DPW crews are still having trouble with residents who are throwing two feet of snow from their driveways onto plowed roads.
1:35 p.m. — Our Facebook readers from Shelton report that the major roads are in good shape but many of the secondary roads have yet to be plowed.
2 p.m. — Griffin Hospital reports staffers have treated 26 people in the emergency room. Some storm-related slips and falls, nothing too serious. Hospital official says the trips to the ER increases as people start to clean up the snow.
2:01 p.m. – 3:56 p.m. — Valley Indy staffers shovel their driveways. In one case, two Derby teens are $40 richer.
4 p.m. — Derby DPW says the problem of people chucking snow into the roads hasn’t improved. Officials are worried about icing conditions caused by residents shoveling snow into the road. Culmo, the head of the DPW, is extremely frustrated.
5 p.m. — Derby DPW starts to release crews, but they’re scheduled to come back at 11 p.m.
6 p.m. – 9 p.m. — Derby is the first to close schools Thursday. Ansonia, Seymour and Shelton do the same (not necessarily in that order).
Click the box below to see how we reported on the storm as it was happening.
