A powerful storm system that had been moving up the East Coast unleashed its full fury on Newtown late Sunday and Monday morning, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and widespread disruptions across town.

Intensifying overnight, the December 17-18 storm brought substantial rainfall to the area, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a Flood Watch for northern Fairfield County in anticipation of the deluge. With the heaviest downpour continuing into mid-morning, local NWS weather stations reported that as many as three inches of rainfall were observed in some regions of the town.

This relentless rain led to rapid rises in water levels for the streams and rivers that run through town, resulting in flooding in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Subsequently, the NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning that included Newtown just before 10 am on Monday.

The weather service warned that the combination of heavy rainfall with already saturated grounds would likely result in streams across the area experiencing rapid rises. The result was flooding along low-lying and flood prone locations.

One NWS weather station in Newtown had recorded 3.08 inches of rain by 8:27 am, one reported 3.02 inches by 7 am, and one in Sandy Hook recorded 2.80 inches by 8 am.

These rising waters were cause for some concern among residents. One Paramalee Hill Road couple watched nervously as their backyard pond began to overflow, threatening the integrity of their home. Residents on Pond Brook also called on first responders to evaluate the risk posed by Pond Brook rising alarmingly close to their own property. Elsewhere in town, one homeowner reported a dramatic flooding of their basement with 4-8 feet of water following a local storm drain becoming overwhelmed.

While schools initially announced a two-hour delay on Monday, the situation escalated to a full closure as reports of falling trees and wires continued. Meanwhile, Public Works crews and first responders were stretched thin, addressing floods as well as downed trees and wires, which caused power outages affecting hundreds of residents.

Newtown was disproportionately affected by these outages relative to the rest of the immediately local region. Eversource, Newtown’s electricity provider, observed power outages for 11,964 (20.75%) Newtown customers, in contrast with the 6% state-wide average.

By 1 pm Monday, the local numbers had decreased to 2,156 (18.02%), respectively.

First Selectman Jeff Capeci offered an update to residents Monday evening. Through an email blast he confirmed the storm damage and loss of electricity for approximately 2,200 Newtown residents.

“Newtown Public Works and Eversource electric crews have been working in a coordinated manner to clear blocked roads and restore power throughout the day,” he said in the update, also noting that both teams would "continue their efforts through the morning, anticipating 99% of all power restorations to be complete."

By 7:30 Monday evening eight roads in town were still partially or fully closed and 676 residents were without power, Capeci said. While urging caution, he did note that Newtown Community Center was open until 9 pm, with showers, water, and wi-fi available. The building would be open again, he added, at 6 am Tuesday for those who needed any of the amenities.

Eversource and town crews continued working Tuesday and even Wednesday, restoring power and reopening final roads.

=====

Reporter Owen Tanzer can be reached at owen@thebee.com.