New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents of northern New York on Wednesday to prepare their candles and pack in some groceries: the first winter storm of the season is about to blanket the area with snow.
Meteorologists have forecast a “major impact, multi-day winter storm” that could drop up to three feet of snow on the area, Hochul said in an interview with Dave Debo on WBFO Radio in Buffalo.
“This is a very serious storm. It could be life threatening,” she warned.
A state of emergency takes effect at 10 am Thursday morning, and the New York State Thruway will close at 4 pm to all commercial traffic from the Pennsylvania border to Rochester.
Regular vehicles will be able to drive the thruway “as long as we have visibility,” Hochul said.
The state is deploying “hundreds and hundreds of personnel and snowplows and generators” to western New York in anticipation of the storm.
Nevertheless, she said, “despite our best efforts, people should anticipate that many of the roads will still be impassable on Friday and Saturday because it’s almost impossible to keep us with three inches of snow an hour.”
“Take it seriously, get out today and put gas in your tanks, buy your groceries and batteries, and prepare for possible power outages. . .be ready to check on neighbors and do what we do best in Buffalo, you know – weather the storm,” Hochul added.
