City Officials Announce Storm Update

City of Meriden – Update 2/9/2013 12:30pm 

Total snowfall by the end of this storm for Meriden is 30". 

Emergency Orders: Governor Malloy has ordered that all Non-emergency vehicles remain off ALL roads in the State to allow clean-up. 

There is a parking ban for the City. 

Clean-up: DPW / PARKS / WATER DEPARTMENTS are working together to open up the main streets that lead to critical areas. With 3' of snow, the work is tedious. 

Meriden Emergency Operations Center – Director Deputy Fire Chief David Bowen: has been in contact with the Miller Avenue DOT Supervisor and they are working towards getting I-91, Route 15, I-691, and Routes 70 & 71. It is a slow process, but he has been assured that they will let him know when things open up. 

Electric: There was one minor power outage caused by an automobile hitting a pole. CL&P response was awesome and got power restored within a couple of hours. (Even though the pole needs to still be replaced). CL&P is still on an "on-call" basis and can get things moving by phone should we need that. 

Shelter: At this time, we do not have a need for a Shelter. We are at 100% electric power. 

Special Assistance: Last evening, in addition to the request for DOT for fire apparatus and ambulances stuck in the snow on Routes 5, 70 and 71, the Meriden EOC requested assistance from the CT National Guard to use special vehicles to get to a motorist trapped in her vehicle. Several attempts by the Fire Department were made but depth of the snow and conditions prevented apparatus from entering the highway. 

Weather update: At 9:45 AM radar and surface observations indicated that light to moderate bands of snow in Eastern CT will continue for a few more hours before moving east into Rhode Island between Noon and 2:00 PM. Temperatures currently range from the low 20’s in Northern CT to the mid 20’s along the coast. NW Winds at 25 – 30 MPH are gusting to near 40 MPH across the state. At 9:30 AM CL&P and UI were reporting a total of 38,772 customers without power primarily in Southeastern Connecticut. 

This Morning…Snow tapering off in most of Eastern CT between 10:00 AM and Noon. Strong North Northwest Winds gusting 40 - 50 MPH at times across the state. 

This Afternoon…Continued blowing and drifting of snow with Northwest winds gusting to 40 MPH at times and ground blizzard conditions at times. 

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) will continue to monitor the latest conditions and will issue another update at 1:00 PM 

David M. Bowen City of Meriden Office of Emergency Management dbowen@meridenct.gov