State of Emergency Declared for Much of New York, What Should You Do?
Spring is less than one week away and parts of New York are getting one of the biggest snow storms of the season. Yes, Spring officially starts Monday March 20th and the current forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 45 in the Capital Region, but that's Monday. Today we have a State of Emergency.
Governor Hochul has declared a State of Emergency for much of New York State. Here's what that means.
With New York's State of Emergency, residents are encouraged to stay home and don't travel unnecessarily. There is a Travel Advisory that looks like this:
- I-84; Full Length. No tandem or empty tractor trailers
- I-88; Full Length. No tandem or empty tractor trailers
- I-87 (Northway): Albany To Plattsburgh. No tandem or empty tractor trailers
- I-90: I-87 to Berkshire Spur. No tandem or empty tractor trailers
- I-81: PA Line to Syracuse. "Trucks Use Right Lane" advisory
- Route 17: Middletown to Binghamton. "Trucks Use Right Lane" advisory
New Yorkers should prepare now for a multi-day event that will bring up to three feet of snow in certain parts of the Capital Region and Mid-Hudson region, this storm will create hazardous road conditions through Wednesday morning, and I encourage New Yorkers in impacted regions to stay home and avoid any unnecessary travel to allow plow crews to do their job. - Governor Hochul
New York State DEC is advising backcountry visitors to be aware of and prepared for avalanche conditions due to weather that could increase the risk of avalanches on slides or steep, open terrain.
The State of Emergency is in effect for Albany, Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Yates and contiguous counties.