New Yorkers were looking at a dangerous ice threat on Friday as Gov. Kathy Hochul warned sleet, freezing rain and snow brought on by the winter storm would bring hazardous conditions across the state.
The National Weather Advisory issued a winter weather alert for the Empire State through Friday night as a low-pressure system and cold front caused temperatures to plunge right across the Northeast.
A travel advisory was also put in place for the Big Apple until Saturday morning as forecasters warned of dangerous, icy conditions on the roads, the NYC Emergency Management Department said.
“This is a very serious storm … it’s throwing everything at us,” Gov. Hochul said first thing Friday as she gave a storm update on News12.
“You can always shovel snow and plow it out of the way, but when there’s ice involved, that is where it gets really treacherous.”
“The roads are slippery, they’re ripe for disaster. If people are out there traveling, we’re absolutely encouraging people to stay off the roads as long as you can today.”
The National Weather Advisory issued a winter weather alert for the Empire State through Friday night. RAMMB/CIRA
A total ice accumulation of up to one-10th of an inch was possible, the National Weather Service said. AccuweatherGov. Hochul said areas north of Rockland and Westchester counties were looking at a “major ice event”, while NYC was expected to be hit with “some ice but mostly rain.”
A total ice accumulation of up to one-10th of an inch was possible across the, the weather service said.
The Finger Lakes, central NY and Mohawk Valley regions – as well as parts Pennsylvania and New England — had already seen more than a foot of snow by Friday afternoon.
Mike Bolduc struggles to push a car out of his neighbor’s driveway Friday morning, Feb. 4, 2022, in Lewiston, Maine. AP
A father and son shovel sleet from the sidewalk during a winter storm in Concord, New Hampshire on February 4, 2022. AFP via Getty Images
The winter storm hits Manchester, New Hampshire on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. AFP via Getty ImagesNew York’s Department of Transport was enforcing a 45-mph right-lane speed limit for I-84, I-88 and I-81 through Friday due to the ice warnings. Hochul said there had been no reports of major traffic incidents so far.
More than 60,000 New Yorkers were already without power across the state as of midday, Power Outage US said. Widespread outages were also reported in Pennsylvania where more than 36,000 households had gone dark.
And over 1,300 flights in or out of JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Boston’s Logan airports had already been axed as of 1 p.m., according to flight tracking site, Flight Aware.
A number of districts in Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Ulster counties closed their schools due to the dire forecast – and some schools in NYC and New Jersey sent students home early on Friday.
The New York City Emergency Management Department issued a travel advisory through Saturday morning. Matthew McDermott
Gov. Kathy Hochul told commuters to avoid road travel Friday. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat & Chronicle via APThere were also widespread school closures in Massachusetts as a result of the storm.
“A lot of schools are closed, which is good. If you can work remotely, please do. But if you have to be out there, you have to go much slower than normal,” Hochul said.
“This is going to go on throughout the day, we don’t know what time it’s going to abate. But it is shifting dramatically from what we had been told initially and so we have to prepare for that.”
