ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State is bracing for the incoming severe winter storm on Sunday, with Gov. Kathy Hochul putting crews on standby throughout the state to help with plowing and responding to emergencies.
Hochul spoke on Sunday from the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Albany, saying she has activated around 100 National Guard members in downstate New York to help with the response. For the Finger Lakes region, Department of Transportation crews are helping with plowing as the snow starts falling. Hochul says this will be the longest cold and snow stretch in years.
“Snow is now falling in Albany and everywhere in between. We’re not alone. It’s hitting the entire state and 30 states are well this weekend. We are anticipating the longest cold stretch and the highest snow totals the state has seen in several years,” She said.
Most of the state is expecting at least a foot of snow. News10NBC has issued a Red Alert for Sunday and Monday, with current models showing up to 14 inches in the Rochester area and up to 18 inches for parts of the Finger Lakes. See our latest forecast here. Here are some other highlights from Hochul’s address:
Commercial vehicle restrictions
Starting on Sunday, long combination tandem vehicles are banned from traveling on state roads because of the storm. In addition, all commercial vehicles are restricted to only traveling in the right lane on state roads, including on the Thruway.
Scale of the state’s response
Hochul says DOT staff will be on hand 24/7 to help with the storm response. Nearly 3,700 DOT supervisors and operators are currently available. In addition, the Thruway Authority is ready with 685 operators and supervisors available. The Thruway Authority also has:
333 large and medium-duty plow trucks11 tow plows62 loaders114,000+ tons of salt on handSee the full news conference
See Gov. Hochul’s full news conference from Sunday here:
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