Streets are salted, plows are set, grocery store shelves have been (mostly) emptied. New York City and the surrounding areas are ready to deal with what may be the biggest snow storm in years.
States of emergency declared for New York and New Jersey on Friday, and are now in effect. Both states have implemented road and highway restrictions for Sunday, while NJ Transit has already suspended bus, light rail and Access Link service starting at 4 a.m. Trains will stop running at 2 p.m.
Drivers throughout the region are being advised to stay off the roads if possible as travel conditions are expected to be dangerous.
“We are expecting a storm, the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. It is going to present very dangerous conditions for travel,” said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
As of midnight, speed limits on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and New Jersey’s interstate highways have been reduced to 35 mph.
In New York City, the weather has already proven to be deadly. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people were found dead across the city on Saturday. The causes of death had not yet been determined, but are believed to be related to the weather, as temperatures plummeted into the teens on Saturday — and may not get above freezing again until February. Police said at least three of the victims were homeless.
Mamdani confidently declared the city’s readiness for the monster winter storm that will not only blanket the tri-state, but will also give the mayor one of his biggest tests since taking office earlier in January month.
“The full power of the city’s enormous resources are prepared, poised and ready to be deployed,” Mamdani said Saturday.
More than 2,000 sanitation workers manning 12-hour shifts are set to hit the streets in hundreds of salt spreaders once the flakes start flying, as well as in thousands of plows to move accumulating snow, the city said.
“The plows will be going throughout tomorrow, and I would think into Monday. And they do multiple passes on streets obviously when it’s a longer storm like this,” said First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Department Christina Farrell.
The city issued a hazardous travel advisory to sway non-essential vehicles to stay off slick and slippery roadways, which will be essential for first responders trying to get to emergency calls.
So how much snow will the tri-state get, and will there be icy conditions to deal with as well? The latter depends on location, and what path the storm takes.
The latest projections show an increasing likelihood of a transition from snow to sleet and freezing rain on Sunday afternoon. This will limit the snow potential for South Jersey and most likely NYC as well.
The five boroughs are still in the 8-12 inch snowfall range, but any precipitation that falls in the form of ice will keep totals on the lower end of that range.
Heaviest totals will be at higher elevation north of NYC where it will be snow all Sunday into Monday morning. Areas around Poughkeepsie could see the highest totals, with 18 inches or more possible. The Hudson Valley, Connecticut and the northernmost parts of New Jersey could get 12-18 inches of snow, while Central Jersey and Long Island will see similar totals to the city.
South Jersey and the Jersey Shore will get the lowest totals, though still a significant amount, from 5-8 inches.
After the snow moves along on Monday, the cold air is here to stay for the entirety of the week and into February. It looks to be NYC’s coldest stretch below freezing since a two-week stretch in 2018.
