New York City was bracing on Friday for its biggest snowfall in more than three years.
The area in and around the city was expected to get 6 to 9 inches of snow over the weekend, with up to 10 inches predicted in some areas. That would qualify as a major storm in a region where hardly a foot of snow has accumulated in some places for three straight winters. Forecasts called for snow to begin Friday afternoon, peak overnight and then taper off early Saturday.
The snow, coming quickly after Christmas, will fall on one of the year’s busiest travel weekends and threatens to scramble travel plans for millions of people across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The region was deep in preparation Friday afternoon. City and state agencies in New York were brining streets and highways with liquid salt and lining up snow plows for deployment. Airlines were canceling flights at New York’s three major airports. New Jersey had declared a state of emergency, and storm warnings were in effect across southeastern New York, northern New York, western Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania.
In Port Jervis, N.Y., about an hour and a half northwest of Manhattan on the Delaware River, residents flocked to Berthiaume’s Neversink Lumber Co. to snap up shovels, antifreeze and ice-melting salts. Workers hustled to replenish the quickly dwindling stock.
Steven Drum, 32, a store employee, was raised in upstate New York and knows winter weather well. His plans were simple: “Plow and then hide.” After that, he said, there would be hot chocolate with his children.
Here’s what to expect as the storm rolls in:
Here’s the Forecast
The New York City area was likely to get 6 to 9 inches of snow, with the heaviest concentration north of the city, along the Hudson River Valley up through central New York, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas could get more than 10 inches.
The storm was expected to begin Friday afternoon and reach its heaviest point overnight, with snowfall potentially coming down at 2 inches per hour. The snow should begin to diminish by sunrise Saturday, although light snow was possible until midmorning.
Parts of the region could experience some of their most significant snow totals in years. Last winter, New York City recorded barely over a foot for the season, still an increase from the 7.5 inches the previous winter and the paltry 2.3 inches the winter before that. From February 2022 to January 2024, the city went nearly two full years without meaningful snowfall.
Other parts of the Northeast, including sections of western Pennsylvania, faced the prospect of an intense ice storm starting Friday and extending into Saturday morning. An ice storm warning was in place for an area stretching from Erie, Pa., to the highlands north and east of Pittsburgh, where forecasters warned people to avoid travel.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said state residents “may wish to rearrange travel plans,” and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City urged commuters to avoid driving and to allow extra time when taking public transportation.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it had been expecting about 15 million travelers to use its airports, bridges and tunnels over the holiday season.
By Friday afternoon, hundreds of scheduled departures and arrivals at the region’s three major airports had been canceled, and hundreds more had been delayed, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. A total of 1,372 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled as of 1:50 p.m., according to the site; nearly 4,500 had been delayed.
American, Delta, JetBlue, United and other airlines said they would waive change fees for passengers flying into or out of the New York area’s three major airports, as well as Philadelphia International Airport and some smaller Northeast airports. American and United said the waivers would also apply to passengers flying into or out of Boston Logan International Airport.
Flight disruptions were expected to continue over the weekend. JetBlue, which disproportionately serves the Northeast, has canceled 154 flights scheduled for Saturday, or 15 percent of its operations, according to FlightAware.
Amtrak had not made major schedule changes by early Friday afternoon. If adjustments were necessary, the railroad said it would notify passengers via its app, website and on the social media site X. Amtrak does not charge ticket change fees, a spokesman said.
Drivers should expect snow-covered roads and reduced visibility. The New York Thruway Authority urged travelers to use the agency’s mobile app to track real-time traffic information and get navigation assistance while on the road. Motorists may also sign up for TRANSalert emails and follow the agency’s X account for traffic conditions.
In New Jersey, a commercial vehicle restriction for tractor-trailers, RVs, motorcycles, and vehicles with trailers was to begin a 3 p.m. on I-78, I-80, I-280, I-287, and Route 440.
New York at the Ready
Agencies across the city and state were in full-on storm preparation mode on Friday, well before a single flake had fallen. The city’s emergency management department said Wednesday that it had activated its winter weather emergency plan and was working closely with the Weather Service and state agencies.
City sanitation workers began laying liquid-based salt brine on streets and highways at midnight to help limit the accumulation of snow and ice. The agency had also lined up more than 700 salt spreaders for roads, highways and bike lanes, a spokesman said. Plans were in place to deploy the Sanitation Department’s fleet of 2,200 snowplows once two inches of snow had fallen.
Outside the city, Ms. Hochul said the state was planning to deploy more than 1,600 large plow trucks.
John Keefe and Gabe Castro-Root contributed reporting and Charlotte Dulany contributed reporting from Port Jervis, N.Y.
Maia Coleman is a reporter for The Times covering the New York Police Department and criminal justice in the New York area.
The post How New York Is Preparing for Its First Major Snowstorm in Years appeared first on New York Times.
