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NORWALK, Conn. Clayton Oliverie of Stratford wasn't the only person stopping for gas on Route 7 in Norwalk on Saturday night. "It's busy for a Saturday night," said Masudur Rahman of Norwalk, who has been a clerk at the North Main Avenue Shell Station for a year. "They lose power, very cold, nasty weather."
Oliverie, who was heading for a Halloween party in the city, said a foot of snow had fallen in Stratford. "It's horrible," he said just before midnight. His normal trip to Route 7 would take him two minutes; it had taken a half-hour, he said.
The early season storm labeled as "historic" by the National Weather Service dumped varying amounts of snow across the region and left thousands of people without power.
"They're saying it's equivalent to Irene as far as power outages go," a Wilton police officer said at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
"Due to the wind and weather we have numerous trees limbs and wires down," said Easton Police Lt. Richard Doyle. He said 6 to 9 inches of snow had piled up in town.
"Dispatcher 22" of the Greenwich Police Department said it was "typical" for a winter storm: "Icy, snowy trees down, wires down."
Sgt. Jeremiah Marron of the Darien Police Department said about 2 inches of snow was on the ground. "The roads are opening," he said. "I don't know if there are utility crews out there currently. I think they're taking a break."
In Norwalk, blowing snow made for whiteout conditions on Super Seven. Over on Main Avenue (also known as Route 7), there were blackout conditions, because the power was out just south of the Merritt Parkway to Ward Street.
Both hotels near the Merritt Parkway were full. A clerk at the Marriott Courtyard said it was usually full on Saturday nights, but the crowd was different. "I guess the storm is affecting it, the unexpected storm," she said. The customers had come from "wherever the power is out."
Ed, at the front desk at the Hilton Garden Inn, said many wedding guests were staying at the hotel. Only 15 rooms were up for grabs, but they were all occupied when he came to work at 7 p.m. About 75 percent of those guests were people whose power was out, he said.
Rain fell closer to the shore in Norwalk for most of the evening, before turning back to snow. Halloween continued in SoNo, despite the weather. Revelers stood outside the Black Bear at about 12:30 a.m., and a man dressed as Superman walked up Fairfield Avenue in the snow.
Mayor Richard Moccia said at about 7 p.m. that he had told city employees to stay home and hadn't opened an emergency operations center.
Gov. Dannel Malloy banned non-emergency vehicles from the Merritt Parkway at about 4:20 p.m. "The storm is causing treacherous driving conditions down along the Merritt Parkway particularly, as well as on roadways across the state," he said, according to a statement. "I am urging residents to stay off the roads and let DOT crews get out there and get the streets clear. On the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways no one should be on the roads except emergency crews. People should stay inside at this point. We are seeing heavy snow start to impact power as well as driving."
There were no cones blocking access to the highway in Norwalk.
The winter storm warning put out by the National Weather Service at 1:07 a.m. said the snowstorm was winding down, with another inch or two of snow expected.
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