Emergency Management Director Steven Williams has issued guidence on storm preparations for Tropical Storm Elsa, expected to affect our area overnight tonight into tomorrow morning. At this time, the National Weather Service does not anticipate major impacts from Elsa except for one to three inches of rainfall. Isolated amounts of up to five inches are possible, according to Mr. Williams.
Scattered flash flooding is possible on Thursday into Friday morning. The weather service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for our area.
If flooding occurs, residents are reminded not to drive through areas where water is over the road. Remember the National Weather Service Motto, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
Should heavy rainfall lead to flooding that closes some roads, an announcement of which roads are closed will be posted on the main page of the Town of Winchester website, the town social media sites, and sent to WZBG FM 97.3 for announcement over the air.
Winchester Office of Civil Preparedness is monitoring the information coming from the National Weather Service and passing information along to the Town Manager and department heads so they can prepare for the storm. A meeting with the Town Manager and department heads was held this morning and all departments are prepared to respond to the storm at this time.
The Emergency Operations Center is being partially activated. An assessment will be done tomorrow morning (7/9) to determine if there is a need to declare a state of emergency and to open emergency shelters.
Eversource is reporting that they are monitoring the situation and are taking steps to have sufficient staff available to respond to any power related issues from the storm. They are preparing for a Level 4 emergency event.
Should there be an extended period of power outage in town, the Winsted Fire Station at 27 Elm Street and the Winchester Fire House at 110 Newfield Road will have extension cords and water hoses set out for residents to use for charging cell phones, tablets, and obtaining potable water.
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