10:30 p.m. UPDATE: Gov. Declares State of Emergency; Major Outages Throughout Silver City

10:30 p.m. Update

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared a state of emergency in Connecticut Saturday evening and warned those without power to expect to be in the dark for "a prolonged period of time."

Malloy said more than 400,000 CL&P customers were without power so far, but the CL&P website showed 512,000 customers without power as of 8:20 p.m. The storm is expected to tail off on Sunday morning, but until then the governor urged motorists to stay off the roads.

In Meriden, 10,250, or 37 percent of customers, are without power as of 10:30 p.m.

Malloy said there was one reported fatality during the storm so far, a motorist along Route 85 in Colchester, and that a Connecticut State Trooper had also suffered injuries during the storm, but they were not serious.

The governor said he thought the state was well-prepared to handle the freak  snowstorm and that there were currently 600 state vehicles out clearing roadways, and an additional 40 contracted vehicles assisting.

Malloy said Bradley International Airport was still open and that 23 planes so far had been diverted there from other airports. The record for incoming diverted planes at Bradley is 27, he said.

-- Reporting by Dave Moran, Manchester Patch editor

Original Story

Trees and power lines are down, and stretches of road are closed throughout the city, but the Meriden Police reported no major incidents in the city as of 4:30 pm. Approximately 7,775 customers were without power in Meriden according to CL&P at 6:30 p.m. — nearly 30 percent of the city.

Wet, heavy snow caused by Saturday's freak fall storm continues to pull down large branches, trees, and wires throughout the city. The National Weather Service predicts possible high winds and heavy snow throughout the evening.