Snow begins to pick up momentum in Danbury

DANBURY -- City officials said the snow is beginning to pick up in the area.

There is also a heavy band of snow along Long Island dumping around 3 inches per hour and local officials are keeping a close eye on it, according to public works director Antonio Iadarola.

He added that city roads are in good shape at this point, and the crews are ready if the snow begins to pick up this afternoon.

"We put down a good base of treatment this morning before any heavy snow hit the area," Iadarola said. "At this point the snow is light and the temperatures are higher than we expected, so that's working in our favor."

Paul Estefan, the city's emergency management director, said the snow began to pick up momentum at about 12:30 p.m. from his vantage point at Danbury Airport.

Estefan said he's been in close contact with the mayor's office as well as officials with the American Red Cross in case the storm takes a turn for the worse.

Dan Hayes, director of the War Memorial, said they have cots and blankets for about 100 people in case the facility is called upon by the city to serve as a shelter.

The memorial building is a designated city shelter and was used in that capacity four times last year as both an overflow for the city's homeless shelter and to accommodate residents of an apartment fire on New Street.

Both City Hall and the Danbury Public Library are closed.

The city remains at a level one snow emergency, which restricts parking on city streets until two hours after the end of the storm. Free parking is available at the Patriot Garage downtown.