Two large storm systems failed to live up to their forecasted hype as a snowstorm blew through town on the weekend of January 6 and 7, only for most of the snow to be melted by a rainstorm that dumped heavy rains on the area late January 9 and early January 10.

The National Weather Service reports Newtown received 4.1 inches of snow over the weekend, and then 3.8 inches of rain Tuesday night.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said the weekend snowstorm “petered out.” The Public Works Department was expecting to work on snow removal from town roads late on Sunday into Monday morning, but “everyone was home by 5 pm Sunday.”

He said the salt and sand the town put down on the roads over the weekend also helped during the rainstorm. Existing material on the road prevented the rain from freezing in the early morning hours of Wednesday.

With the rainstorm, Hurley said the initial concern was that wind would peak in the early hours and knock down trees and power lines. While the winds did gust fairly strongly, damage was minimal to non-existent.

Flooding was an issue, however, with some dirt roads getting washed out, some people losing driveway access to their homes due to flooded streams, and flooded basements.

Partial or full closures due to flooding or washouts were reported on Button Shop, Pond Brook and Zoar roads.

Dickinson Memorial Park was closed on Wednesday due to "extreme flooding," according to an email blast issued by Newtown Parks & Rec.

“The story of the storm was water damage,” said Hurley.

Hurley said that with so few storms so far this season, the town’s storm materials are in “really great shape.”

“We were ready for the storms, we were prepared, and we dealt with it well,” he said Wednesday morning. “Neither storm was as bad as forecasted.”

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Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.