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With snow overspreading the area, a crash has caused the closure of a stretch of the Merritt Parkway late Thursday afternoon.
The crash, reported around 5:30 p.m., is northbound, closing the lanes between Route 137/High Ridge Road (Exit 35) in Stamford and Route 106/Exit 36 in New Canaan.
There is gridlock on the northbound side of I-95 with two disabled vehicles. One is blocking the center lane between Noroton Avenue (Exit 10) and Route 1 (Exit 11) at 6 p.m. and the other the right lane between Atlantic Street (Exit 8) and Route 1 (Exit 9).
An earlier crash that blocked the right lane caused gridlock on southbound I-95 between Exit 22 and Exit 20 in Bridgeport.
In addition to the treacherous driving conditions through Thursday evening, the snow and sleet, combined with wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour, could cause power outages during the height of the Nor'easter, which is projected to result in higher accumulations than earlier predictions.
A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for the entire region until 10 p.m. Thursday.
Snow/sleet accumulations of 2 to 5 inches are now expected south of I-287 and the Merritt Parkway and 3 to 6 inches inland. Western areas north of I-84, including Dutchess, now could see between 8 and 12 inches of snowfall.
There is still uncertainty with the projection amounts, however, because the extent and timing of snow mixing with sleet are unclear. The northern areas with less mixing are expected to see the most accumulation.
The wintry mix will continue for the entire region through around 11 p.m. Thursday before changing over to rain. Areas farther north will see freezing rain and some sleet and snow overnight through early morning, meaning school delays and even closures are possible farther north on Friday.
The entire region will see rainfall into Friday morning before gradual clearing in the late morning and early afternoon as the high temperature climbs into the mid-40s.
Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high in the mid-40s.
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