Hurricane Sandy Drops About One Inch of Rain on Hartford

The dirty little secret of this storm is that there is very, very little rain.

Hurricanes are usually known for devastating rains, but Hartford is on the east side of this particular storm – thus making the wind the major problem instead of rain.

State officials originally announced Friday at the state Capitol that there would be 7 to 14 inches of rain. In the Hartford area at least, that looks like about one inch now.

The winds and the flooding are major problems along the shoreline, but the rain had not been a problem by early Monday afternoon in Hartford.

The University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus – along the shoreline – lost power on Monday afternoon, but none of the other campuses across the state – from Storrs to Stamford – lost electricity.

In West Haven, the famed Chick’s Drive-In restaurant on Beach Street was being protected Monday by Jersey barriers that were erected in front of the eatery. The water had poured into the restaurant, which is across the street from Long Island Sound, during the last storm. The restaurant was closed for a short period following that storm, but it reopened and started serving customers once again.

In Darien, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson sent out an email Monday that said that two high-tide cycles at noon and then again at midnight “are predicted to bring unprecedented tidal surge in excess of 10 feet above normal high tide.  Wind speeds will be increasing throughout the day to hurricane strength.”

She added, “We are already experiencing flooding on Seagate, Catallpa, Contentment Island, Holly Pond, 5 Mile River, Beach Drive and Noroton Bay.  Conditions will only worsen between now and midnight high tide.
Residents are urged to stay indoors unless you are evacuating.  The time to evacuate is NOW if you are in vulnerable areas.   Firefighters are going door to door in these areas to ask you to leave.  When wind speeds reach sustained levels of 50 mph or more, all emergency, public works and utility response will be suspended and our personnel will not be able to get to you.”

State Rep. Stephen Dargan, who lives along the waterfront in West Haven, and many of his neighbors left the area for higher ground.

“It’s a ghost town along the beach in my area,” Dargan said Monday via cell phone. “I don’t think I could get home if I wanted to. … The wave action was not that bad at 12 noon. The water wasn’t pouring in. The preparation and the preparedness is much better than last year. With practice, you learn.’’

Since Beach Street is so close to the water, it is a popular viewing spot during storms – attracting thrill-seekers and others who want to be part of the action. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has warned for two consecutive days that thrill-seekers should stay inside and remain out of harm’s way. Those warnings, though, did not stop some in West Haven.

“There was somebody out on their jet ski around 11:30 a.m. or so at the high tide mark,” Dargan said, noting that a call came into the police dispatchers about the skier. “You’ve got to use some common sense.’’