Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for all of downstate New York on Thursday, as Winter Storm Grayson walloped the area.

“Unless it is essential for you to be out on the roads, you should not be,” the governor said Thursday morning. “It becomes a question of common sense for New Yorkers.”

Cuomo added that those needing to brave the storm should know they were putting themselves and others at risk in the extreme weather conditions.

He warned that the late afternoon rush hour would be more problematic than the morning’s commute as gusty winds and general conditions were expected to worsen later in the day.