Slick Road Conditions After Snow Blankets Tri-State Area
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Snow that blanketed parts of the Tri-State area Friday morning created slick road conditions after bitter cold temperatures left much of the region in a deep freeze on Thursday.
The light snow showers hit just in time for the Friday morning rush. The greatest snow totals are expected mainly from the city on northward into the Hudson Valley and Connecticut.
CHECK: Forecast | Alerts | School Closings & Delays | Cold Weather Safety Guide | PHOTOS: Jan. 9 Snowfall
"When I got to work this morning, I thought I was walking around inside a blizzard," Brooklyn resident Daniel McCarthy told CBS2's Vanessa Murdock.
Getting traction on the roads was tricky, ultimately leading to a mess on the West Side Highway where a single SUV slammed into the divider. As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, another car flipped along Interstate 87 in Rockland County.
The New York City Department of Sanitation issued a snow alert, which went into effect at 5 a.m.
Slippery Morning Commute As Snow Moves In Across Tri-State Area
The sanitation department said all of its salt spreaders were out and working around traffic. It said plows will be used where needed.
"The snow came down very heavily right at the rush," Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia told 1010 WINS. "We have all of the equipment that is useful in a storm that is less than two inches on the roads."
Alternate side parking was also suspended to facilitate snow removal. Parking meters remain in effect.
As TV 10/55's Richard Rose reported, snow squalls caused major backups on Long Island highways.
"I didn't see anything this morning. I think they were taken by surprise, I think we all were," Suffolk County resident Joan Dacorta said.
A spokeswoman for the State Department of Transportation told Rose plows can't be sent out until there is at least an inch of snow on the road, adding the storm struck quickly at the height of rush hour, leaving even the snow plows stuck in traffic.
Across the Hudson River in Yonkers, the powder covered roads forced Adam Power to walk his son to school.
"His bus couldn't get through because of the snow," Power told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "The road they take is closed due to the snow."
Many of the buses that did manage to make their routes were delayed, making kids late for school.
"This weather is ridiculous," said Tiffany Wilcox, who was waiting at the bus stop with her daughter. "They don't have any snow plows and the buses are running late."
"When I was a kid I couldn't understand why anyone would go to Florida. Now, i can't understand why everybody doesn't go to Florida," William Leitold said.
A handful of schools across the Tri-State area reported delayed openings Friday morning. A few schools were also closed.
Across western New York, lake-effect snow and high winds caused hazardous driving conditions where a section of Interstate 190 and other Buffalo-area highways remained closed Friday.
The National Weather Service says sections of western New York along Lake Erie could get up to 3 inches of snow per hour during Friday's storms.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday night that the Thruway would close because of forecasts calling for 2 to 3 feet of snow south and east of Buffalo.
The Thruway Authority closed Interstate 90 at midnight Thursday from Exit 46 outside Rochester to Exit 61 at Ripley, on the Pennsylvania border 60 miles southwest of Buffalo.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
