Updated: Vernon Snowstorm Central

Mayor Daniel Champagne on Thursday urged Vernon residents to be "proactive" in preparing for a winter storm that could last into Friday afternoon and bring blizzard conditions and "severe cold weather" to most of the state.

“Now is the time to prepare for a prolonged indoor stay and to take necessary measures to prepare for the impact of the storm," Champagne said. "This means keeping appraised of watches and warnings issued by the National Weather Service and to be proactive in securing food, water, basic emergency supplies and personal medical supplies. Please be assured that the safety of our residents is our foremost concern. The Vernon Office of Emergency Management is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating the town’s response operations.”

The town is prepared to open a warming shelter or shelters, if needed, he said.

Champagne issued the following reminders:

• Stay away from downed power lines and report emergencies and downed lines by calling 911.

• Anyone experiencing a power outage can call Connecticut Light & Power at 800-286-2000 to report it. Do not assume outages have been reported.

• A town-wide parking ban will remain in effect. Vehicles parked in violation of the ban are subject to being ticketed and/or towed.

• Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning: Always use portable generators, camp stoves, and grills outside and 20 feet away from windows, doors and vents to prevent deadly CO poisoning.

For additional information and updates go to vernon-ct.gov.

Emergency management officials said their weather models are calling for a possible 10 inches of snow with winds that could surpass 35 mph. Cold temperatures that could put wind chill factors near minus-20 could last into Saturday, officials said.

Schools were dismissed early on Thursday. 

The state Department of Motor Vehicles is canceling all road tests for Friday. 

Anyone with a scheduled road test can call DMV to choose a new date. The numbers to call are 860-263-5700 if someone is within the Hartford area and 800-842-8222 for those outside the Hartford area. The DMV will also be attempting to contact customers with road test appointments to advise them of the schedule change.

Updates:

7:13 p.m. 

School has been called off for Friday because of the winter storm that could dump as much as 10 inches of snow on Vernon through the morning hours. 

The local public school system issued the following statement at 7:13 p.m.: 

Good Evening.

This is Mary Conway, Superintendent of Schools in Vernon. Due to declining winter weather conditions tonight and into tomorrow, the Vernon Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014.  I repeat: The Vernon Public Schools will be closed, Friday, Jan. 3.

Thank you and have a pleasant evening.

http://vernon.patch.com/groups/vernon-school-news/p/no-school-on-friday-for-vernon-students