UPDATE (8:40 p.m.) Blizzard 2010 Hits Westfield

The blizzard of 2010 has arrived and has been steadily dumping snow on Westfield since last night, causing downed power lines around town.

The second half of the storm has entered the area in early afternoon with a heavier snow fall starting between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Snow fall continues to increase with winds expected to cause white out conditions in the town. The snow fall is now over a foot in Westfield with the National Weather Service expecting more tonight.

The snow started falling lightly around 8:30 last night leaving a light dusting on cars leaving the Board of Education meeting at 10:30 last night. At 1:20 a.m. Wednesday morning a light dusting could be seen on cars with no accumulation on the roads. At 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, streets were covered in several inches of snow as the snow fall started to steadily increase.

There was a brief clearing around Noon with the worst of the storm expected. The late morning snow offered a preview of what could come with smaller flakes falling faster than the early morning snow. The Department of Public Works says the smaller faster falling flakes will make it tougher to clear the roads as quickly, given the greater weight of the accumulating snow.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan announced that schools will be closed on Thursday. The announcement followed intense speculation amongst students on Facebook about a closure.

Many power lines in town are covered with ice, causing them to hang low. Town emergency services have been receiving calls all morning regarding downed power lines across Westfield. Locations of downed lines include the 1000 block of Boulevard, Grandview near Unami Park and the intersection of Benson Place and Cranford Avenue.

Fire Chief Dan Kelly said the fire department responded to 24 calls between 7:30 a.m. and Noon, all storm related. Of these incidents, 20 of them were downed utility wires due to the snow.

Many tree branches, including those in Tamaques Park are sagging under the weight of the heavy snow. DPW crews have been responded to downed branches which are touching power lines or blocking roads.

The DPW has been out clearing the roads since 4 a.m. Most main roads are clear and many secondary roads have been plowed, with the snow continuing to fall. The DPW will continue to make sweeps of the town to clear the roads as the snow continues to fall. Staffers will remain out until five hours after the snow stops falling.

Public Works Superintendent Claude Schaffer is urging residents to remain patient regarding snow removal. He said the department has done three passes through town as of 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.

"We're plugging along," he said. "We are on our third pass. As soon as we plow it comes back."

Schaffer said the latest projections into his department show the snow ending between 1 and 2 a.m. on Thursday.

Weather forecasts are predicting between 12 and 18 inches of snow to fall on Westfield in a storm expected to last all day Wednesday and into the early morning hours of Thursday. The forecasters are saying the heaviest of the snow is expected on Wednesday afternoon.

Mobile Meals of Westfield, which handles the Meals on Wheels program in town, has closed their office on Wednesday because of the snow. It is not known if they delivered to residents expecting meals. Three Chinese restaurants, Hunan Wok III, Peking Garden and Jade Garden Chinese, are continuing to deliver in Westfield on Wednesday. Dominos is the only pizza place that is delivering in Westfield, but not to the entire town. Dominos is not delivering to any street that requires the driver to drive up and down a steep hill to get to and from the home. Roanoke Road in the Gardens was listed as one such street that Dominos is not delivering to today.

Echo Lake Park had a steady group of children and parents enjoying the day off from school with some sledding before the heaviest of the blizzard hit the region. Families could be seen frolicking in the snow in other parts of the town.

Almost all downtown businesses were closed today. Like a beacon in the snow, Starbucks remained open Wednesday morning but announced a closure at Noon. The muncipal parking lots had few cars in them.

Schools and government offices are closed, while travelers seeking a flight out of New Jersey will have to wait as most flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport are cancelled today. The county courthouse in Elizabeth is also closed today.

Editor's Note: If you have photos of the blizzard hitting your neighborhood, you can upload them to the story or you can e-mail them to johnc@patch.com. Also, let us know about how your neighborhood is doing in the storm. Send your stories to johnc@patch.com.