Westport Schools to Open On Time Monday [UPDATE]

Update 7 p.m.

Westport schools will start on time Monday, according to an email from the district sent to PTA members.

"For Monday, October 31, the Westport Public Schools will be OPENING ON TIME and all buses will be running on or close to their normal times," the email said. "This message also is applicable to the Stepping Stones Preschool."

Update 3:45 p.m.

Planet Fitness is offering use of its shower and locker room facilities to residents who need them in the wake of the historic snowstorm. A complete list of the company's gyms in Connecticut can be found here.

Locations in Fairfield County include:

• Shelton (two locations, and )
• Stamford ( and )

Update 1 p.m.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said through his Twitter feed that he’s asked President Obama to declare a federal emergency in Connecticut.

Currently, more than 820,000 utility customers in the state are without power, including more than 800,000 from Connecticut Light & Power. CL&P has no new updates since Tweeting four hours ago that outages could last one week.

The CEO of United Illuminating—whose Fairfield County towns include Easton, Fairfield, Shelton and Trumbull—said customers should have power restored Monday.

Stay on your local Patch for school closing and delay information as it becomes available, and be sure to create a user account to post comments on this article or upload your photos and videos by clicking the “Submit Your Photos” button.

Here’s a snapshot of outages in our towns at 1 p.m.:

Town

% Customers

Saturday

Sunday

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

12 a.m.

9 a.m.

1 p.m.

Darien

10

26

41

47

37

27

26

26

Easton

0

16

20

22

38

29

42

46

Fairfield

2

3

4

4

4

5

14

14

Greenwich

5

12

13

14

15

18

18

17

New Canaan

8

22

24

38

39

42

42

43

Norwalk

15

17

17

18

18

20

22

19

Redding

1

9

13

96

80

100

100

100

Ridgefield

4

8

9

15

18

67

100

100

Shelton

12

19

25

28

23

18

11

8

Stamford

3

4

8

8

15

8

17

8

Trumbull

0

1

5

5

6

18

25

11

Weston

10

58

68

75

75

61

80

80

Westport

14

28

31

32

34

19

21

22

Wilton

10

37

50

56

56

55

68

66

Update 11 a.m. Sunday

In what Gov. Dannel Malloy has called the largest number of outages in Connecticut history at a single time—some 790,000 statewide—Westport saw the percentage of CL&P customers in town without power rise to more than 20 percent this morning.

The Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parways are to reopen at 11 a.m. today, Malloy said through his Twitter feed.

See the full outage table below.

Said CL&P in its own Twitter feed: "Unprecedented damage from this storm. Please prepare for worst case scenario - a week or more without power. Call 211 for shelter info."

Metro-North Railroad says service has been restored on the New Haven line, though rail commuters in towns such as Redding need to make alternative plans:

• Hudson Line, New Haven Line & New Canaan Branch: Regular train service has been restored.
• Harlem Line: Upper Harlem Line service remains suspended from North White Plains to Wassaic due to downed trees. Regular train service has been restored from North White Plains to Grand Central.
• Danbury & Waterbury Branches: Bus service is in effect on both branches. Train service remains suspended due to downed trees at several locations and local power outages. On the Danbury Branch buses will bypass Redding Station. Redding customers should use Branchville or Bethel Stations

Stay on Patch for updates.

Update 12:30 a.m. Sunday

Westport is among a few towns in Fairfield County that saw major improvements in power restoration late Saturday, even as , which is forecasted to continue through Sunday morning.

According to a 9:46 p.m. Saturday update from the National Weather Service, the historic October snowstorm is expected to wind down by about 6 a.m. Sunday, leaving accumulations of six inches to a foot.

“Widespread tree damage and power outages will continue,” according to the NWS. “Travel will continue to be hazardous.”

As Saturday becomes Sunday, MTA is reporting:

New Haven Line: Trains are operating with delays of  60 to 90 minutes due to weather-related signal problems.

New Canaan & Danbury Branches: Service remains suspended due to downed trees at several locations and slippery rail conditions.

Below, you’ll find an outage map that tracks outages, as a percentage of the utility (Connecticut Light & Power or United Illuminating) in the given town.

Town

% Customers

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

12 a.m.

Darien

10

26

41

47

37

27

Easton

0

16

20

22

38

29

Fairfield

2

3

4

4

4

5

Greenwich

5

12

13

14

15

18

New Canaan

8

22

24

38

39

42

Norwalk

15

17

17

18

18

20

Redding

1

9

13

96

80

100

Ridgefield

4

8

9

15

18

67

Shelton

12

19

25

28

23

18

Stamford

3

4

8

8

15

8

Trumbull

0

1

5

5

6

18

Weston

10

58

68

75

75

61

Westport

14

28

31

32

34

19

Wilton

10

37

50

56

56

55

Patch will have more details as they emerge Sunday.

Update 7 p.m.

Westport town officials posted this notice on the town's website this evening:

High winds tonight will bring down more tree limbs/wires. Pls stay home and off roads! Snow may be light but storm isn't over yet.

Update 5 p.m.

See updated outage table below. MTA reports delays on the New Haven line with service on the New Canaan and Danbury branches suspended.

Update 4 p.m.

CL&P now is reporting more than 3,500 Westport homes without power, a dramatic increase as night approaches amid continued snow and rain and rapidly dropping temperatures.

Original Story

Downed trees and branches are causing road hazards, accidents and sporadic power outages throughout Fairfield County Saturday.

A winter storm warning and coastal flood advisory is in effect through much of the region as a slushy storm that coincides with relatively high winds and tides arrived even more quickly than forecasters had predicted. The National Weather Service now is calling for as much as 8 to 12 inches of snow as temperatures drop into the 30s.

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Drawing from the Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating websites, here’s a snapshot of outage reports throughout our towns on Saturday:

Metro-North has . At this time the rail service reporting “Good Service” on the New Haven line and New Canaan  and Danbury branches.

CL&P has issued .