More snow than some towns expected

(WTNH) -- More than 12,000 customers have lost power today as a winter storm dumped upwards of a foot of snow in come parts of Connecticut. Roads were a mess, and many schools closed, giving some students a three-day weekend.

Connecticut Light & Power reported 203 power outages as of 11:00 p.m., down from nearly 13,000 earlier in the day. Essex was especially hard hit, with 2,500 customers, nearly two thirds of the town, without power. Nearby Deep River was also effected. Also hit hard was town of Clinton. At one point they had more than 2,200 outages.

United Illuminating reported 2 customers without power as of 11:00 p.m.

The storm brought more snow than some expected to parts of the state. According to the National Weather Service, an observer in Staffordville, north of Tolland, reported 23 inches of snow. Other totals from the NWS include:

• Coventry: 20.5"
• Manchester: 18.0"
• Ashford: 16.0"
• Brooklyn: 14.0"
• Wolcott: 12.5"
• South Windsor: 12.0"
• Woodbridge: 10.0"
• Thomaston: 8.0"
• Litchfield: 7.5"
• New haven: 6.5"
• Guilford: 6.1"

LINK: WXedge.com: Preliminary Snowfall Totals

Roads began to get messy long before the sun came up. In Clinton, a tractor trailer accident closed the northbound lanes of I-95 near Exit 63 for a couple of hours early Friday. The crash also closed one lane on the southbound side of the highway. It's unclear if anyone was injured. That crash was cleared around 6:30 a.m.

John Carey of the Department of Transportation said drivers "gotta be patient" and drive slow when they get on the road. The snow was initially heavy in the northern part of the state, but Carey said it's "pretty much spread problems statewide."

The DOT had all 632 of its trucks, plus outside contractors, plowing highways.

At Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, airport officials said all flights are running on time, but they advised drivers to allow extra time to get to the airport.

Metro-North advised riders to allow extra time to get to their stations, and be careful while walking on the platforms.

Greater Bridgeport Transit said their services are operating this morning, but that riders "should expect delays and leave extra time for travel."

The Department of Motor Vehicles canceled all road tests for the day Friday.

Connecticut state courts also announced delays Friday. Some court activities were pushed back up to 90-minutes, depending on the location.

Some school districts closed down for the day, giving their students a three-day weekend. Others delayed opening for up to two hours.

It wasn't only kids who had their routine schedules interrupted by the snow. News 8's Stephanie Simoni spoke to folks in the Woodbridge area who had work canceled for the day.