Tri-State Area Readies For First Significant Snow Of The Season
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A winter storm advisory has been issued for much of the Tri-State area as snow is expected to move in early Saturday morning.
The advisory takes effect at 6 a.m. Saturday through early Sunday morning for New York City, Westchester, Rockland and Long Island, as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. Meanwhile, winter storm warnings have been posted for Suffolk and Ocean counties.
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Around three to four inches of snow are expected for most.
It will be a heavy, wet snow.
Many residents Friday said they're ready for the snow.
"This is winter, this is what winter's all about," Staten Island resident Alonso Hall told CBS2's Marc Liverman.
"If I'm home already, then I don't care cause it's like hot chocolate and sledding with the neighbors down the driveway," said Prospect Park resident Vanessa Cuccurullo.
It was business as usual for some but not for everyone at a Home Depot in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
"My mother-in-law delivers salt at the start of every winter because everyone in Brooklyn runs out," one woman said.
Keith Lawrence picked up his winter supplies.
"I hate the snow, it's too much work," he said.
But Lawrence's big ticket item won't arrive until after the storm.
"I bought a snow blower and I'm waiting for it to be delivered on Monday," he said. "I'm too old to shovel snow."
At a news conference Friday, the New York City Department of Sanitation showed off some of their new snow removal equipment.
Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Farcia says 693 salt spreaders will go into operation bright and early Saturday, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"We will preposition the spreaders ahead of first flake," she said. "We anticipate still going out on collections with plows on, cause we don't expect two inches until later in the morning."
Garcia says she expects the heaviest snow in the afternoon in the middle of the heaviest traffic. Her advice to drivers?
"I would really prefer if at all possible for people to use mass transit," she said.
Also new this year are GPS units loaded with 1,400 plow routes, replacing the pages of written instructions, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
In the city, alternate side parking rules will be suspended Saturday but parking meters will remain in effect.
In Westchester, truck engines were revving Friday as workers attached plows in Bedford.
"Getting all the equipment ready, watching the forecasts and having our employees ready to take care of the snow and keep the hamlets clean," Commissioner of Public Works Kevin Winn told WCBS 880's John Metaxas.
Winn says his town has 130 miles of roads to clear.
The snow isn't expected to wrap up until Saturday night. A shift in the track of the storm could change conditions.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
