Snow continues to fall this hour, making a messy ride home and prompting warnings about a slow start to Wednesday morning’s commute.
New York's winter weather can be tough to predict. Meteorologists forecasting in the Albany area, for example, are calling for anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow - and possibly freezing mixed precipitation to boot. They warn the Catskills and Adirondacks could see 6 to 10 inches. West of Albany, the National Weather Service warned total snowfall accumulations could be 3 to 6 inches in Utica and surrounding areas in Central New York, with some parts of Herkimer County potentially receiving up to 8 inches.
Snow began to fall around 9:20 a.m. in Binghamton, where the last storm in mid-December dumped nearly 45 inches of snow. Mayor Rich David:
"The estimated 2 to 4 inches that is, you know currently underway in the city, is a is a welcome relief compared to what we've been doing. So we obviously have a full contingent of vehicles. We had already been doing pre-salting. So obviously this is something that we're on top of, but all things considered, based on the history of massive snowfalls that have hit the city of Binghamton over the course of the last several years, this ranks as relatively small. But that being said, you still have to be as proactive as possible. Make sure that it is your response is properly staffed and that you're also prepared, because as we know, the estimations are not always correct. And we are prepared for all of those contingencies."
The National Weather Service recorded 22.9 inches of snow December 17 at Albany International Airport. Albany saw its first flakes of the new storm around 1 p.m.
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo told New York state agencies to have emergency response plans and equipment ready. Frank Zeoli is deputy commissioner of the City of Albany's Department of General Services.
"We know it's going to be a long-term storm, could be over the duration of 24 hours. With any storm, you know whether it's 3 inches or 6 inches or 12 inches or two feet, we need to be prepared. We need to have staff involved. We need to have salt ready. We need to have equipment ready to deploy. We are prepared. We've got men and women working 12-hour shifts. We're out there. We've got about 68 pieces of equipment ready to go. And we're prepared if we should get a little bit extra."
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers says this storm dumped over a foot of snow on Nebraska and Iowa and has weakened as it moved east.
"The storm currently coming out of northeastern Ohio right now, and will be cutting right across New York State. So you're gonna see a steady period of snow. And actually our accumulation, we're forecasting two to four inches. And personally, I kinda think you're going to be near the top end of that range. I think you're going to get 3 or 4 inches of snow."
So get your scrapers, shovels and plows ready... Bowers says snow ends around 7 a.m. Wednesday but he warns Old Man Winter has a one-two punch coming, with frigid temperatures forecast for the weekend.
