The latest storm is still hours away, but Westport police were kept busy tonight with two multiple vehicle accidents that tied up evening rush hour traffic.

The first involved several vehicles at Post Road East and Cedar Road at about 5:30 p.m. At least one person was treated for what emergency workers described as a broken arm.

A second accident about an hour later on Saugatuck Avenue under the I-95 overpass involved three vehicles. No one was reported injured.

The accidents on Westport roadways followed earlier accidents on I-95 in Norwalk and the Merritt Parkway between Fairfield and Westport which also backed up traffic.

The National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Westport and area for heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain which is in effect from 6 a.m.Tuesday to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Icicles covered a building at Westport’s 25 Sylvan Road South today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Bob Eckman for WestportNow.com

The Weather Service said the area can expect 6 to 9 inches of snow accumulation and up to a half an inch of ice accumulation by late Wednesday.

It said the snow begins after midnight tonight, transitioning to a wintry mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain late Tuesday morning into Tuesday afternoon before becoming intermittent Tuesday evening.

Then a mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain develops late Tuesday night, transitioning to mainly freezing rain late Wednesday morning into early Wednesday afternoon before tapering off late Wednesday, the Weather Service said.

By Mark Pazniokas

www.ctmirror.org

Economist Barry Bluestone: ‘Our goal should be to prove the census wrong.’ Ctmirror.org photoConnecticut’s leaders are understandably obsessing over the state’s fiscal crisis, but a prominent economist warned today that the bigger and more difficult challenge to its long-term economic health is anemic population growth and an aging workforce.

Barry Bluestone of Northeastern University told a Hartford audience that the state must continue smart-growth zoning policies that encourage denser, less expensive housing—a key factor in attracting a younger workforce.

While politicians often focus on taxes and a regulatory environment, a chronic labor shortage is ultimately more destructive to a region’s business climate and its fiscal stability, Bluestone said.

“Demography is destiny,” he told a forum organized by the Partnership for Strong Communities: “How the States Will Fight for Young Workers and Economic Growth.”

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Four new Westport firefighters get a congratulatory handshake from First Selectman Gordon Joseloff following their swearing in today. The four—(l-r) Joe Micalizzi, 30, Fairfield, Ted Crawford, 33,  Bethlehem, Conn., Matt Wille, 25, South Salem, N.Y., and Paul Spennato, 26, Westport—will undergo 14 weeks of fire academy training. They will fill vacancies caused by retirements and a resignation. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Staples High School senior Zach Slater, 17, earned the $500 first place award Saturday at the annual Rotary International Four Way Speech competition in East Haven. Slater, pictured in December at Westport Town Hall where he won the $500 Westport “speak-off” prize, spoke on why the military needs to eliminate its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gays and lesbians. The road to the East Haven event was paved with a series of four competitive speaking events. Judges at East Haven were chosen from president-elects from 62 Rotary clubs in southern Connecticut.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

UPDATE Metro-North said New Haven Line trains are now operating on or close to schedule after earlier experiencing delays of 10 – 15 minutes due to weather-related equipment shortages.

The National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y.  has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Westport and area which is in effect from Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening.
Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security issued this updated weather map this morning. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) DEMHS map

It said snow, sleet and freezing rain is likely beginning Tuesday morning with accumulations of 5 to 9 inches of snow and up to half an inch of ice accumulation by late Wednesday.

The Weather Service said snow begins around sunrise Tuesday with light snow and sleet continuing much of Tuesday and Tuesday night.

A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected Wednesday – and this is when the heaviest precipitation will occur, the Weather Service said.

Sunday’s sunset as seen overlooking the Saugatuck River in Westport’s center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com