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During a press briefing in Ulster County on Thursday, Dec. 17, Cuomo announced in Kingston that 18 counties across the state have been placed under a State of Emergency to “allow local government and the state government more flexibility.”
Among the 18 counties were Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster, which all saw around a foot or more of snow, potentially with more on the way, Cuomo warned.
“There are a lot of people working very hard today to clear those roads, so if you don’t have to be on the roads, please don’t travel today,” Cuomo said in the Hudson Valley. “We expect another four or five inches to come down before it leaves the state around one or two o’clock.”
Cuomo said that anyone who can avoid leaving the house to travel should do so as crews continue working to clear off the roads.
“We have thousands of pieces of equipment out and lots of people working very hard to clear those roads, so if you do not have to be on the roads, please don’t travel today,” he said.
“First, the roads are dangerous, especially local roads,” Cuomo continued. “And second, for the people trying to do plowing and clearing the roads, the traffic creates an obstacle for them, so we should let them do their job and stay safe.
“The personnel has been working now for multiple hours and everyone is tired. The storm leaves this afternoon, then we can move on.”
The bans on empty and tandem tractor-trailers on the Thruway from Exit 24 in Albany to the New York City line, Interstate 84 from the Connecticut State Line to the Pennsylvania State Line, Interstate 684 from Interstate 84 to Interstate 287, and Route 17 from Interstate 84 to Interstate 81 have been lifted as of 11 a.m. Similar bans on all MTA Bridges and Tunnels will remain in place until 4 p.m.
During the overnight hours, more than two feet of snow fell across much of the state, with the Southern Tier experiencing the highest snowfall totals.
Binghamton generally received 24 inches snow, while Albany received 16 inches, Kingston received 14 inches, and New York City receiving 8.
The storm will continue to move out of the region Thursday with the snow winding down by noon.
Temperatures will range from the high teens to low 20s and hazardous travel conditions will persist with wind gusts topping 15 mph.
The speed limit on the Thruway from Exit 36 in Syracuse to the New York City line has been reduced to 45 mph, as well as on a number of other key interstate corridors including:
- I-88
- I-87 (from Exit 1 to Exit 23)
- I-90 (from Exit 24 to Berkshire Spur)
- I-787
- I-890
- Route 7 (from I-87 to Hoosick Street in Capital Region)
- I-81 (from PA line to Exit 9)
- I-84
- I-684
- All Mid-Hudson Parkways
- I-86 (I-390 to Tioga county line)
- NY 17/I-86 (Chemung county line to Orange county line)
- I-99
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