Hochul declares state of emergency for major winter storm

Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for the winter storm, effective at 8 p.m. Monday evening.

In a briefing at the Department of Transportation facility, Hochul’s message was to stay home, stay off the roads, and don’t crowd the plow.

New York State DOT has 259 pieces of equipment ready, including large and medium plow trucks, loaders, blowers, tow plows. There’s also tons of salt.

Complicating this storm is how fast the snow will fall, high winds, lack of visibility, and that the type of snow expected in the storm will be heavy and wet, which can take down wires.

The New York State Thruway Authority is banning tandems and empty tractor trailers from several major highways, effective 8 p.m. Monday, from the Northway Exit 17 in Newburgh in Orange County to the Thruway Exit 36 in Watertown in Jefferson County. Also, the length of the Berkshire Spur – the Northway Exit 21B to the Massachusetts border.

Any tandem or empty tractor-trailers will not be able to use those highways until the ban is lifted.

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