Governor Hochul Is a Guest on Spectrum News

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on Spectrum News to update New Yorkers on winter weather.

AUDIO: The Governor's interview is available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:

Camille Delongis, Spectrum News: Communities across Upstate New York are once again preparing for a winter snow storm with some areas expecting to see up to three feet of snow by midweek. Governor Kathy Hochul is joining us now to discuss this next bout of extreme weather. Governor, thanks for calling in today. What are the major areas of concern for you right now across Upstate?

Governor Hochul: Well, we have many concerns. It just seems like Mother Nature is literally piling on the pain being felt by our Bills fans across Western New York and the state. So this is going to be a long duration lake effect snow. The storm is starting tomorrow morning, but we're very worried about the extreme cold.

And this is not just a one-day event. You can bundle up and then carry on normally. This could go on literally for two solid weeks, and the good news is, it's a holiday tomorrow. And we don't think there'll be a lot of road activity, but this volume of snow plus, if the wind is up to 50 miles an hour — creates whiteouts, then we're in dangerous conditions, as we've seen far too often already this year. But we have to warn people. These storms, when you're on the road, it’s dangerous.

If you can find a way to avoid travel, that'd be fantastic, and just stay home and maybe watch the Sabres games tomorrow afternoon. We want people to take precautions and have supplies in their cars and charge them, because you never know. And I know this is a Western New Yorker, you could get caught up in a snow squall, spin out, and the next thing you know, your car with your kids in it, is in a ditch.

So we're concerned about that also. We know the city — it's hard to get the plows in some of the narrower streets in the city. So we're deploying State DOT trucks to help the city of Buffalo — North Buffalo, South Buffalo — and give the city and the localities any help they need. So I think it's like the extreme cold, but also the wind kicking up may result in some road closures, possibly the Skyway, but we don't have that information just yet.

Camille Delongis, Spectrum News: It has certainly been a difficult winter in parts of our state with the western part of our state, Central New York, and I know parts of the Buffalo Metro Area are expected to see up to 18 inches, and there are communities off Lake Ontario preparing for two to three feet of snow. We know folks in Watertown are used to that, but how's the State preparing to help with all of that snow removal?

Governor Hochul: It's all about pre-deploying our DOT equipment and staff. We have 1,600 large plow trucks and medium plow trucks and large loaders and snowblowers, about almost 4,000 supervisors and operators. So first of all, it's getting the DOT staff in place. It's getting the Thruway staff in place. Also, we're always concerned during these events, especially when there's a high wind event, that the power lines come down and that people are stuck in the cold. As somebody who raised kids during snow storms, there's nothing more frightening when the power goes out, your house gets cold and your home with little ones, and it's something we need to prepare for.

So we also have almost 6,000 utility workers across the state ready to be deployed and respond and repair and then ultimately restore power as quickly as possible. So that's another dynamic. We know how to do this. It's all about being ready in advance and then being able to deploy the assets where they're most needed.

Camille Delongis, Spectrum News: What is your advice for New Yorkers dealing with this storm in these heaviest areas, especially with those high winds you're talking about, and the potential for power outages as we frequently see with this level of snowfall? How should New Yorkers prepare themselves to go into this storm system?

Governor Hochul: We have to make sure we're not getting complacent because extreme cold weather can literally be deadly. So limit your time outdoors. If you have to be outside, a lot of people work outside, take a lot of breaks and go inside. You have to stay hydrated. You have to wear multiple layers of clothing.

And also, like I said, prepare your vehicle. That could save your life if you have everything you need in the vehicle. An extra cell phone, you make sure your cell phones are charged and you have water and extra blankets and just even that shovel you keep in the trunk in case you have to dig out, or we used to keep cat litter in the back of our car to throw down, to give you some traction when you're shoveling, if you're stuck. So Western New Yorkers and certainly in the Tug Hill Plateau and Watertown area, they know all about this, but we cannot get complacent. Each storm has potential to be very debilitating and devastating. So we always plan for the worst here in the State of New York.

Camille Delongis, Spectrum News: And we've seen it before, of course. I think it's a good reminder to folks to not get complacent, Upstate New Yorkers like to brave these elements, but a good reminder to stay inside as much as you can. Stay off the roads. We've been speaking with Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, thank you.

Governor Hochul: Thank you very much. Bye-bye.