At an 8 am press briefing, January 4, Governor Dannel Malloy said he had just completed a conference call with state agency leaders and public safety representatives, and learned that State Police had already responded to approximately 70 calls for service and nine crashes related to today's storm.[naviga:img class="wp-image-299585" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SH_Jan-4-Noreaster-state-plows-on-Wasserman-near-Nunnawauk-Rd-02.jpg" alt="A pair of state snow plows travel east on Wasserman Way Thursday morning, while a third waits to turn off Nunnwauk Road. A Nor'easter that arrived prior to daybreak was dropping steady snow across the state, leading to hundreds of school cancellations and business closings for the day. (Bee Photo, Hicks)" width="800" height="534" /] A pair of state snow plows travel east on Wasserman Way Thursday morning, while a third waits to turn off Nunnwauk Road. A Nor'easter that arrived prior to daybreak was dropping steady snow across the state, leading to hundreds of school cancellations and business closings for the day. (Bee Photo, Hicks)[/caption]

This prompted the governor to remind drivers to operate safely and slowly in the event they are required to be on state roadways today. State highways will remain open with 634 state plow trucks and 250 contractors working to keep roads as clear and safe as possible given anticipated winds and drifting snow that could cause whiteout conditions.

He urged all drivers to respect plow crews, travel behind them if possible, and not try to pass plows that are clearing highway lanes.

To help minimize traffic and ensure their safety, Governor Malloy has ordered all non-essential first and second shift state employees to remain home today.

The governor said the latest forecasts indicate the snow will begin tapering down after 6 pm, but not before Connecticut sees heavy winds with anticipated gusts up to 60 miles per hour.

Those winds will prevent bucket trucks from deploying to work on downed power lines, which are expected today, but he, along with representatives of Eversource, stated they are equipped and ready to respond.

At 8 am, only two outages had been reported statewide.

Bone-chilling cold will descend on Connecticut this evening with temperatures near zero with a wind chill factor as low as 20 degrees below zero Thursday evening into Friday. The governor implored residents to check on elderly and disabled neighbors to be sure they are safe, and reminded residents about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from supplemental heating devices.

He also asked that residents be mindful of fire hydrants near their properties, and to clear them for access by fire crews.

Governor Malloy said he would be keeping tabs on the storm situation, but responded to reports assuring today's storm was far from the worst his administration has seen.

He said he expects neighboring states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts to experience worse storm conditions. Gov Malloy has scheduled another press briefing for noon.

This story will be updated with new information at that time.

[caption id="attachment_299585" align="aligncenter" width="800"]