Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul appeared on Spectrum News to discuss the state’s preparations for extreme weather expected to affect New York during the Thanksgiving holiday. The forecast predicts significant lake effect snow in Western New York, Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, and the North Country starting today and continuing through Saturday, November 29.
Governor Hochul emphasized the unique challenges posed by this storm due to its timing with peak holiday travel. “That’s exactly the point. Ordinarily and certainly in a few months, one to two feet of snow accumulation over a couple days is not something we have to be so concerned about. But, number one, it is the first major storm of the season, which sends chills through everybody — literally and figuratively. They’re not used to it, but at some point we get hardwired to be used to it, but we’re not there yet.”
She highlighted that Wednesday is typically the busiest travel day of the year and warned that road conditions could deteriorate rapidly due to high winds and heavy snowfall. “Our roads will be icy, they’ll be blowing — could be 30, 40 miles an hour statewide, but even up to 60 miles an hour in some of our localized areas. That creates visibility concerns, blizzard-like conditions. Trees can come down because there’s still a lot of leaves on the trees — this is what we see in the fall events — and power outages,” Hochul said.
The governor advised travelers to plan ahead: “If you have to travel for the holidays, get on the road as early as you can tomorrow, be at your destination before the storm hits and also just take all these precautions.”
Addressing specific areas of concern for Thursday evening into Friday, Hochul stated: “Thursday evening in Western New York will be the most intense snow — more like the rest of the state, Central New York, and Mohawk Valley and the North Country more Friday.” She encouraged people traveling after Thanksgiving dinner to consider potential hazards: “I would certainly think that’s something that people should consider is to know that you could be going into the brunt of the storm as you’re leaving your dinner.”
Hochul also cautioned against driving under hazardous conditions after consuming alcohol: “It’s nice to celebrate the holidays, but also being on the roads with those icy, blizzardy conditions — you’ve had a couple of drinks; could be really a recipe for disaster as well.”
The governor outlined measures taken by state agencies in advance of this event. According to her remarks: “Our people are already positioning… We have over 3,500 supervisors and operators. We have about 1,600, 1,700 plow trucks… Thruway Authority equipment and their staff of over 677 people there — 338 trucks with that effort. We have a lot of salt on hand… we have utility workers… we have 5,500 utility workers already available statewide to respond and assess any damage.”
She stressed readiness for power outages based on her own experience living in Western New York: “Living in that snow belt area… when the power went out and we didn’t have a generator… you’re just praying that the power goes back on…”
Reflecting on past storms such as November 2014’s severe weather event in Western New York—when several feet of lake effect snow paralyzed communities—Hochul urged vigilance given how unpredictable these storms can be: “All the predictors and all the technology we use… So many times Mother Nature just changes her mind. And that’s when we can’t be caught off guard.”
She encouraged residents: “But above all if you can just stay home. Just stay home over the next couple days… play with kids — that’d be a much safer time…”
In closing she added advice regarding Black Friday travel: “…we’ve seen stores… are mobbed on Black Friday right? That’s another day when people are accustomed to being on roads… If it looks like weather is shifting toward your area with some intensity that is absolutely a time to stay home…”
Governor Hochul wished all New Yorkers a safe holiday season.
