Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a State of Emergency across all of New York State on Thursday, as a blizzard heads toward Western New York.
Hochul is calling the Hub Zone storm. "It will be nasty, it will be brutish, and I hope to God it's short," says Hochul.
She calls the storm a kitchen sink storm, with wind, snow, ice and flooding potential between now and Monday.
Hochul's State of Emergency takes effect at 6 a.m. EST Friday. "There will be a full commercial traffic ban on the Thruway from Henrietta to the Pennsylvania line at 6am," says Hochul. She adds soft closures will also be in effect. "What does that mean? I highly recommend you not travel. It's not a hard closure yet but starting at 6 a.m. [Friday], Route 219, Route 400, the 290, 190 and Route 5 from Big Tree to the 190, so expect that," urges Hochul.
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Hochul says it's all hands on deck. "24/7. Operations Centers are already up on a coordinating with our local authorities, our county executives, utility workers. We normally have 5,000, we have 7,500 already pre-positioned even before the first limb falls, we're ready to handle this," says Hochul. She adds more than 2,000 snowplows being deployed with chainsaws and generators ready to be at all the traffic signals.
A Blizzard Warning is up for Erie, Niagara, Orleans, and Genesee Counties Friday through Sunday.