Granby, East Granby Storm Central: [Updated 12:30 p.m.]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will declare a state of emergency and is asking all residents to limit nonessential travel.

"People need to take this storm seriously. If current predictions are accurate, we will need people to stay off the roads so that emergency personnel and utility crews can get to the places they need to get to, and to make sure that our plows can keep critical roadways clear," Malloy said.  "Please stay home once the weather gets bad except in the case of real emergency."

Both Granby and East Granby public schools are closed. School officials made the call on Thursday evening, along with districts all over the state.

Town officials in East Granby and Granby say they are prepared for snow removal and have emergency operation plans in place should power outages be widespread.

As residents brace for the possibility of power outages, there were reports throughout the state of long lines at gas stations Thursday, including some in Granby and East Granby.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he would have his emergency operation center in place at 9 a.m. Friday, and he advised residents to stay off the roads if possible. Non-essential state employees were told not to report to work on Friday.

All commercial airline traffic will be suspended as of 1:30 p.m. Friday and is not expected to resume until mid-to-late morning on Saturday.

The airport will remain open as long as airport personnel are not in harm's way.

Passengers are encouraged to contact their specific airline for more details about the next scheduled flights. If phone lines are busy, the best way to get information about a flight is through the airline's website, Facebook or Twitter pages.

According to the National Weather Services, "As much as one to two feet of snow is forecast from the New York City metro area to Maine, with localized heavier amounts possible. This, in addition to wind gusts as high as 60-75 mph will create significant impacts to transportation and power."