Governors Hochul and Murphy Urge Residents to Stay Home During Heavy Snowfall – NBC New York

Transit officials said they anticipate a suspension of Long Island Rail Road service Friday night.

“In the middle of the night at some point we are going to shut down service and there will likely be no service in the morning,” MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber said during a storm briefing with the governor in Melville.

The state of emergency, which goes into effect at 8 p.m. Friday, makes it easier for state officials to purchase equipment and supplies and transport them across county lines.

Gusts began to fall in New York City on Friday morning, but the heaviest snow is expected to arrive Friday night and into Saturday. One of the main concerns is the powerful wind gusts that could reach up to 40 mph.

Con Edison has issued a warning for residents to stay away from downed power lines.

Before the blizzard, more than 200 flights were canceled at the three main airports in the metropolitan region. Officials at LaGuardia Airport, which debuted a shiny new terminal Thursday, urged travelers to confirm their flights before arriving at the airport.

At a storm briefing in Lower Manhattan, Mayor Eric Adams warned of dangerous road conditions.

Adams urged New Yorkers to stay off the roads and instead take public transportation if they need to travel. Snow is expected to start at 8 p.m. and continue through Saturday afternoon with the possibility of more than an inch of accumulation per hour, according to Christina Farrell, acting commissioner for the Office of Emergency Management.

Farrell said the city is expecting strong winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 50 mph. He warned of frigid temperatures in the coming days. The wind chill will be below zero on Saturday night.

The city’s cookouts and open streets programs will be suspended on Saturday. On Sunday, parking on the alternate side will also be suspended. City-run testing and vaccination sites will also be closed. Vaccination appointments for Saturday will be kept on Sunday, Adams said.

10 to 16 inches of snow could accumulate on Long Island, with most of it arriving by Saturday, Hochul said. At its peak, the storm could drop 1 to 2 inches per hour on the island, at a rapid rate. And the winds are expected to be strong, with sustained winds over 35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph.

In the upstate suburbs, the MTA’s Lieber said there will also be service suspensions on some Metro-North Railroad lines, including the upper reaches of the Harlem-Wassaic line and portions of the New Haven lines, pending negotiations with the state of Connecticut.

Hochul urged Long Islanders to stay off the roads Friday and Saturday nights.

In total, state agencies and authorities have deployed more than 2,100 snowplow trucks and 119,000 tons of road salt in anticipation of the storm, according to state Homeland Security Commissioner Jackie Bray.

Meanwhile, utilities have about 5,500 workers ready to tackle possible power outages, Bray said.

Earlier in the day, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency beginning at 5 p.m. Friday and urged people to stay off the roads to avoid accidents and make room for snowplow trucks.