Midnight Update: Malloy Declares Emergency; Nearly 6,000 Without Power

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.

As of 11:44 p.m., there were 5,805 CL&P customers in Berlin without power, 61 percent of total customers.

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 David Moran, Manchester Patch editor

Original Story (4:20 p.m.)

Power was out to more than 2,800 CL&P customers, or 30 percent of town customers, seemingly at opposite ends of town during this early season snowstorm.

Heavy snow was falling on trees and cracking limbs. Driving around town will be hazardous as there are many tree branches all over the roads.