East Hampton, Portland, Hunker Down For Blizzard of 2013

Portland and East Hampton schools closed early, folks were lined up at local gas stations last night to top off their cars and get fuel for generators.

Welcome to the Blizzard of 2013, a storm forecasters are calling "historic" because it is expected to dump up to 2 feet of snow on the region.

Statewide, utility companies are already calling in extra crews from out of state to help with the expected power outages. The blizzard is expected to bring winds of up to 60 MPH when it hits full force overnight.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has asked all nonessential workers to stay home today and other major companies in Hartford, such as Aetna, have told their workers to remain at or work from home as well. The governor has also asked all residents to remain off the roads as the storm intensifies.

In this region the snow started to fall shortly after 8 a.m. It is expected to continue into Saturday.

In Portland, the Portland Restaurant's Ice Carving Contest scheduled for Sunday has been postponed to a later date.

As of Friday morning most major businesses were still open, including Stop & Shop in East Hampton.

The owners of Paul's and Sandy's Too in East Hampton have announced that the nursery and hardware store will remain open during the storm.