New York State Under Weather Related State of Emergency

Over the last week, officials from the Empire State and the National Weather Service have been advising New Yorkers that the weather will get quite treacherous this week as the combination of a polar vortex and lake effect snow storms will wreak havoc all over the state. Those warnings are starting to come to fruition as multiple areas of the state are getting blasted with both below-freezing temperatures and high winds, causing both subzero wind-chills and large amounts of heavy and wet snow to hit the state.

Conditions on the ground are getting so bad that New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a State of Emergency for several New York Counties, and local governments across the state are shutting down their offices and closing schools in an effort to keep people safe.

With wind-chills expected to be as low as -25°, officials are concerned that it could be too dangerous for kids to be outside walking to school or waiting for the bus. Additionally, snowfall totals could pile up to amounts we haven't seen since the Blizzard of 2022, causing even more issues if people are on the roads. As much as 3 feet of snow is expected near the Lake Ontario shores, with more than 2 feet expected in the Buffalo and Western New York areas.

The counties of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, Oneida, and Counties Contiguous to those are all under this state of emergency. While the New York State Thruway remains open, officials are warning that travel is difficult at best. Several connecting highways have been closed as snow is making roads impassible.

Heavy and wet snow has already fallen all over the state, with more expected over the next day or so.

State officials noted that they have more than 2,000 pieces of equipment out on the road to help keep things as clear as possible, but caution is warned.