Snow ending soon, but roads remain treacherous

Even as the worst of the snow tapers off, officials continue to urge residents to remain inside so crews can clear the roads.

The state has more than 400 plows out of the roads, and municipalities are out in force as well. Gov. Gina Raimondo urged drivers to stay off the roads and out of the way of crews trying to make them passable again.

Some cars have tried to pass plows, during the day, resulting in accidents. Thdre have been 15 accidents around the state, but there were no serious injuries, Gov. Raimondo said during her 4:30 p.m. press briefing.

The heaviest snow should be coming to an end soon. The rest is expected to taper off around 9 p.m. But, Gov. Raimondo said, that does not mean it is safe to venture out.

"If you look outside and see it's not snowing, don't go out," the governor said. "Sotay out of the way of the plows so that by tomorrowing morning for the morning commute, we should be in good shape."

Thousands of people around the state are without power, including in Portsmouth. Most of the rest of East Bay kept power throughout the storm, according to the National Grid Power Outage Map. Gov. Raimondo said National Grid workers are out trying to restore power as soon as possible. She asked any residents who lose power to notify National Grid.

The National Weather Service is estimating most of the East Bay will see 15-21 inches when all is said and done this evening. A blizzard warning remains in effect through 9 p.m., as strong winds gusting high than 30 mph will continue through the night.