This story has been updated to include most recent travel ban information.

Newtown was reporting only one of the 2,759 residential power outages being handles by Eversource at 1 pm as Governor Dannel Malloy briefed state press on the progress of Tuesday's blizzard.

While telegraphing that he expected to have numerous announcements when he returned to the media room at the State Emergency Operations Center at 5 pm, the governor did not lift the statewide travel ban.

He did waive all third-shift nonessential state workers from coming in this evening, adding to an order that kept first- and second-shifters home.

Rail and bus lines continued to be closed, but Gov Malloy hinted that some travelers who were inbound to Bradley Airport when 7,800 northeast corridor flights were canceled, might be arriving on scattered flights late tonight.

He said airlines may attempt to shuttle aircraft in to Bradley overnight Tuesday to start getting stranded ticket holders out of Connecticut on Wednesday morning.

The governor continued to express appreciation to all residents for honoring the travel ban, saying that by 1 pm, State Police had only responded to 86 calls to assist, and 28 accidents with no serious injuries or fatalities.

"This is a fraction of what we'd normally expect to occur in this kind of weather," the governor said.

On the other hand, traffic was building up on Gov Malloy's Facebook page as he noted that he was getting loads of pictures of brownies on social after earlier telling residents it was a "good day to make brownies."

He said State DOT crews were doing a good job clearing roads - and that by staying in - residents are helping keep roads clear for DOT and emergency responders.

Governor Malloy added that temperatures will continue to fall into evening, and patches of black ice are expected to develop.

He also said that the Connecticut Red Cross was forced to cancel 11 blood drives and possibly more on Wednesday as the state faced an "increased strain on blood reserves."

He asked capable residents who could do so safely to consider donating blood, and that he planned to donate at the blood services office in Farmington Wednesday.

At 2:03 pm today, the office of the governor issued the following press release:

HARTFORD - Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced this afternoon that the travel ban on state roads that went into effect early this morning will be lifted effective at 5:00 p.m. today, but he is still urging motorists to stay off the roads if possible this evening as conditions remain treacherous.

"By limiting travel on state roads to only essential personnel, we dramatically reduced the potential for accidents and it has provided road crews with much greater access to clear the roads faster," Governor Malloy said. "As the storm begins to taper off, we will be lifting the ban effective at 5 p.m. today, however I want to stress that residents are still strongly advised to stay off the roads if at all possible. DOT crews are still clearing snow from many roads, and black ice continues to be a concern. If you absolutely do not need to travel, stay where you are this evening. Again, I want to thank all of the residents of our great state for heeding the warnings and staying safe during this storm."

Later on Tuesday, Gov Malloy added that state offices were expected to be open, Wednesday, March 15; that Metro-North service was to resume as of 6 pm, with hourly service through 11 pm, no branch service; and that on Wednesday, Metro-North would operate on a modified schedule; and that bus service was to resume on Wednesday.