Update 3:43 p.m., Monday

According to Connecticut Light & Power, 93 percent of Redding residents and 71 percent of Weston residents are still without power. In Easton, 950 customers remain in the dark and cold, according to United Illuminating.

Update 2:01 p.m., Monday

The following is a press release from Region 9 Public Schools:

Joel Barlow High School is available 24 hours per day and provides the following emergency services (no pets):

• Cots (bring your own bedding)
• MREs (Meals Ready to Eat)
• Electronic charging stations
• Water
• Showers  

Easton Services:

The Easton Senior Center has heat, power and cooking facilities.  They have restrooms but no showers.  Cots are also available (bring your own bedding), but call in advance if you need one  - telephone 203-268-1145.  No pets.

The Easton Police Department is providing water and MREs.

Redding Services:

Redding Town Hall (Mon.-Fri., 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

• Water
• MREs
• Electronic charging stations

Update 12:24 p.m., Monday

Weston Library and Weston High School are open for residents to watch movies and use WiFi, according to a press release sent by First Selectman Gayle Weinstein and Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer.

The full text is as follows:

To All Weston Families and Residents,

The power to our entire campus was restored this morning.  However, the vast majority of the town residences remain without electricity.  To help our citizens pass the time in these challenging conditions, Weston Public Schools will be offering free movies in its auditorium throughout the day until the schools reopen.  The library at the high school is also being made available to all citizens for reading or Wi-Fi access from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.  We have turned up the heat a few degrees to make everyone little more comfortable; especially those existing in unheated homes at this time.

Today we will begin our film viewing in our “Weston Schools Cinema” as follows:

1:00 p.m.   Rio – animated comedy fun for the whole family, rated G

3:30 p.m.   Secretariat – astonishing true story about a spectacular race horse, rated G

7:00 p.m.   The Blind Side – heart-warming story of a family that extends a hand to a young man in need, rated PG

Films for tomorrow will be posted on our website later today.  Please stay safe and as soon as we have updated information on the reopening of schools, it will be sent to you.

Also, please visit the Town of Weston website for information on the postponement of Halloween Trick or Treating until Saturday, November 5, due to safety concerns of children walking street to street.

Update 4:10 p.m.

This just in from the Easton, Redding and Region 9 website: Easton, Redding and Region Schools will be closed on Monday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 1 due to power outages and many roads being impassable. Office and custodial staff will be contacted directly by their supervisors as to whether they should report to work on either day.

Update 4 p.m.

Weston officials said on the town website that residents will be without power for three to five days. The town has opened a 24-hour emergency shelter at Weston Middle School.

Weston officials say to residents should bring their own bedding, towels and toiletries.

Other services include:

• Town Hall will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday for Internet access. Assuming power is restored to the Town Hall complex, the town will also have the library open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Senior Center open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m..

Here's the full message from the town:

In Weston, 76% of customers are currently without power. CL&P still has not given us restoration estimates. We are hopeful that CL&P will give us some estimates tomorrow, and we will post that information as soon as we get it.  We are asking residents to prepare to be without power for 3 - 5 days.  In anticipation of sub-freezing temperatures this evening, please be careful of potential hazardous road conditions. We have opened a 24-hour emergency shelter at the Weston Middle School. Please bring your own bedding, towels and toiletries. Town Hall will be open tomorrow from 8:30 am until 5 pm for internet access. Assuming power is restored to the Town Hall complex, we will also have the library open from 9-5 and the Senior Center open from 9-2. If you are trapped in your home, transportation to the shelter is available. Please call 203-222-2692 or 2693 by 5:30 this evening for assistance or road closing information. Weston's AT&T storm line is currently out of service, so please call 203-222-2591 for updated recorded information. Our website, www.westonct.gov and facebook page will be updated throughout the day.
We realize that tomorrow is Halloween and we are currently working on a plan to ensure that our children are safe. We will send out a message in coordination with the Superintendent of Schools as soon as possible.

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:

• Fairfield
• Norwalk
• Shelton (two locations, here and here)
• Stamford (here and here)
• Trumbull

Update 1 p.m.

The Easton Courier reports in its Twitter feed that packaged meals and bottled water are available at the Easton Police Department.

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.:

Update 11:30 a.m. 

Weston schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday, district officials said on their website. Nothing yet from the Easton, Redding and Region 9 district page.

Here's the full announcement from Weston: Weston Public Schools will be closed Monday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 1 due to the destructive impact of the snow storm over the weekend and continuing pervasive power outages throughout the town. We will reassess Tuesday afternoon regarding opening schools on Wednesday, November 2.  A communication will be sent to families no later than 4pm on Tuesday, November 1.

Update 10:45 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—Weston, Redding and Easton all saw outages increase overnight.

For Redding and Weston, because they're CL&P customers, those outages are expected to linger far longer.

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."

Easton, which is a United Illuminating town, is expected to have full power restoration Monday.

United Illuminating on its Twitter feed said: "Crews worked through the night and fresh crews have begun very early this am. Trees continue to be the leading culprit."

See the full outage table below.

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

Here’s how United Illuminating prioritizes restoration efforts, according to the utility’s website:

First Priority:

• Public safety requires the de-energizing or cutting down of downed line, primary voltage distribution lines.
• Restoration of service to previously designated public emergency service institutions such as major hospitals, evacuation centers, as prioritized by municipal officials.

Second Priority

• Service restoration to a maximum number of customers in a minimum amount of time using available work forces. This usually involves the removal of trees and limbs, the bypassing of some damaged equipment and the re-energizing of primary voltage distribution lines.

Third Priority

• The repair and restoration of equipment and lines serving small groups of customers.

Fourth Priority

• Although the restoration of service lines to individual homes or buildings is designated as Priority 4, they will in most cases be done at the same time as other restoration work designated with a higher priority. This is accomplished by using crews not normally associated with distribution restoration work.

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

Even as Easton and Weston saw slight improvement late Saturday, 100 percent of Redding customers of CL&P lost power, while Gov. Dannel Malloy warned that statewide outages could reach upwards of 550,000 during the storm, 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.

Patch will have more details as they emerge Sunday.

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.

More than half of Weston now is without power, the utilities say, along with 16 percent of Easton and nearly 10 percent of Redding. The figures represent dramatic rises within just the past hour.

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.

In Weston, Patch blogger Catherine Revzon notes that among the several family-friendly Halloween activities planned for this weekend, the "Boo!" at the Weston Public Library Community Room will be held 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., depending on safety and power issues.

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Add your Weston, Redding and Easton snow and storm photos to this article by clicking the "Submit Your Photos" button above.

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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 called for delays. At this time the rail service reporting “Good Service” on the New Haven line and New Canaan  and Danbury branches.

CL&P has issued safety tips in the face of widespread outages.