This story has been updated to include rainfall totals as of 10 pm Sunday and peak wind gusts, as supplied by the WCSU Weather Center.

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A rain system that stalled over the region on Sunday intensified overnight, with strong winds taking their toll on root systems weakened by wet ground. Sandy Hook had received 3.71 inches of rain by 10:05 pm Sunday, according to data from the Western Connecticut State University Weather Center.

Multiple locations across Newtown were affected by trees or large branches falling during the October 29-30 overnight, many pulling wires down with them.

Winds picked up around 11  pm Sunday, and continued to gust for a few hours, accompanied by very heavy rains, also for a few hours. By daybreak, both had calmed, but were still present.

Gary Lessor, assistant to the director of meteorological studies and the Weather Center at WCSU, shared information with

The Newtown Bee late Monday morning that showed wind gusts reached into the mid 60s during the storm.

Stamford had a recorded wind gust of 65 mph at 12:36 am Monday, according to data provided by Mr Lessor. Lower Fairfield County recorded gusts of 54 to 64 mph between 10:40 Sunday evening (in Old Greenwich) and 1:59 am Monday (Fairfield). Readings for anything closer to Newtown were unavailable, he said.

A Wind Advisory issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the southern half of Connecticut, including Newtown, is in effect until 2 pm Monday. Winds are expected to remain strong this morning, "gradually diminishing by afternoon," the advisory said in part.

Winds will be "west 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph," the advisory continued. "A few new power outages are possible from fallen tree limbs."

A Wind Advisory is issued when sustained winds of 31 to 39 mph, or gusts of 46 to 57 mph, are expected or occurring, according to NWS. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles, in open areas, and on elevated roads and bridges.

Hawleyville Fire was the first company sent out on a rain-related wires down call. The company was dispatched at 2:12 Sunday afternoon to the area of 15 Farrell Road. Botsford Fire responded to two calls, one on Toddy Hill and another on Kaechele Drive, during the 8 o'clock hour on Sunday, and then two additional calls for wires down were received before 11 pm.

When the winds kicked up around 11, so did the calls for help. Between 11 pm and midnight, seven calls were responded to. Calls continued through daybreak, with firefighters sent to 20 locations by 6 am. Ten additional wires down calls were responded to between 7:13 am and 9:14 am, according to Newtown Emergency Communications Center.

Residents awoke on Monday to find trees and utility poles down, or tilting. Utility lines, including primary lines in many cases, had been pulled down. While many of the incidents in town closed or partially blocked public roadways, a few private properties were also affected.

Joe Tani, operations manager for Newtown Highway Department, said there were 18 road closures since the onset of the heavy winds.

"Right now, I don't know of any closures that have been reopened," Mr Tani said Monday morning, just before 9:30. "I have a lot of roads closed just by trees."

The closures, he added, "were all over town."

Town crews were called in around 11 pm Sunday, he said.

An email blast from the Town of Newtown at 9:30 am Monday indicated "20 roads that are totally or partially blocked with downed wires or trees.

"Eversource crews and Public Works crews are on site in many locations, performing damage assessments and planning recovery," the notice continued. "The first order of business is to Make Safe, the highest priority being to address all dangerous conditions.

"Restoration work follows the Make Safe process," it continued. "No specific restoration times have been provided by Eversource. Please proceed safely in your travels throughout the town and general area."

Some homeowners were unable to leave their homes due to trees and/or wires blocking their driveways Monday morning. In at least two instances, vehicles had power lines on or around them. One homeowner contacted Newtown Emergency Communications Center to report a power line had fallen across their front door, temporarily blocking that entryway.

A detached garage on Woodbine Lane was heavily damaged around 11 pm Sunday, when a tree fell on that outbuilding. No injuries were reported in that incident, nor in any other storm-related calls as of 9 am, Monday, October 30.

Firefighters from all five of the town's volunteer companies were busy all night, responding to storm-related calls. Public Works crews were also kept busy by the storm, clearing trees when it was safe to do so and creating temporary road closures around town.

Newtown public schools were closed on Monday, due to the number of road closures. Many preschools in town were also closed, including Fraser Woods, Trinity Day School, and Wesley Learning Center,

Hundreds of schools across the state were also closed, including Bethel, Brookfield, and Region 15/Southbury-Middlebury.

At 9 am Monday, Eversource was reporting 920 power outages in town, representing 8 percent of its 11,070 customers in Newtown. Across the state, more than 141,000 locations were without power, representing approximately 11 percent of the utility's 1.2-plus million customers.