B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Holds a Briefing to Update New Yorkers on Extreme Weather

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state’s response as a massive winter storm system begins to bring heavy snowfall to most of the state. The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated and will remain staffed through the storm to coordinate State response efforts and respond to local requests for assistance. Following the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency and activation of 100 members of the New York National Guard on Friday, new travel restrictions for commercial vehicles have been implemented. All commercial vehicles will be restricted to traveling only in the right travel lane on all state roads, including the New York State Thruway. A travel ban for Long Combination Tandem Vehicles is also in effect on the New York State Thruway. Updated forecasts show snow totals in areas of the upper Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region and North Country could reach up to two feet, while the Catskills could see more than two feet. Snow in New York City and on Long Island will turn to sleet Sunday night before returning to snow Monday.

B-ROLL of the Governor at the State’s Emergency Operations Center is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

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

 Good morning everyone. I came by here to our Emergency Operations Center to first of all to thank the individuals who come day and night — working 24/7 to keep New Yorkers safe. I wanted to first acknowledge all of the first responders and those who are in rooms like this across the State, but also out in our communities and on the streets. We sleep safer at night and we are safer during a storm like this because of their hard work.

This is certainly the coldest weather we've seen, the coldest winter storm we've seen in years — and truly New York State is locked into a grip here. A sort of an Arctic siege has taken over our State and many other States across the nation.

The snowstorm we're expecting is now underway, it is brutal — it is bone chilling — and it is dangerous. Snow began falling already on Long Island, in New York City early this morning. Snow is now falling in Albany and everywhere in between. As I mentioned, we're not alone. It's hitting the entire State and 30 States as well this weekend.

We are anticipating the longest cold stretch and the highest snow totals the State has seen in several years. The longest cold stretch and the highest snow totals in years. Already records in the State have been shattered. Shocking reports out of Watertown — The actual temperature in Watertown was -34 and -49 in Copenhagen. That is not the real feel — that is not the wind chill — that is the actual temperature. We've warned this to be dangerously cold and it has been unrelenting. Friday temperatures across the State were as low as -40 to -20 and felt as cold as -30 to -50.

But I know New Yorkers know how to deal with the weather, and again I've been at this Emergency Operations Center to see how impressive our operations are. I always want to take a chance to thank the plow drivers, the hospital workers, and all of the emergency and essential personnel who are there. As you know, I declared a State of Emergency on Friday and since then to enhance our response, we've deployed over 100 National Guard members — many of them are concentrated Downstate at this time to go where they're needed — and also to particularly help on Long Island and the Hudson Valley and New York City.

We have also taken some steps to make our roads safer. Banning long tandem tractor trailers on the Thruway as of 6:00 AM today. Commercial vehicles are right now restricted to the right lane only on State roads. And two counties have full travel bans in place — Dutchess and Ulster — and additional travel advisories and restrictions are all over the State.

We have deployed additional resources. We have additional DOT personnel who have been all over the State. I mentioned the other day, we have countless snowplows and lifts and all the equipment that's necessary. We have plenty of salt, we've been stocking up on salt in anticipation that our plow drivers would need this to keep the roads clear.

And for parents in New York City, about an hour ago the Mayor announced that schools will move to remote learning tomorrow. So to the snow forecast, everyone across this state should prepare for a solid day and a half of this weather, and the heaviest snow will still be coming this afternoon and through the night.

And this will continue through most of the day tomorrow, but we expect it to end by midday. So here's some of the totals. We expect 8 to 12 inches in the North Country. 12 to 18 in the Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, Central New York, and even parts of the Finger Lakes — including Rochester and Western New York.

So we've had some changes in the recommendations from National Weather Service but I also want to make a point here. A number of years ago, we created the State Weather Risk Communication Center. This is the first in the nation, state of the art facility, which I've toured many times — that gives us daily weather briefs. And they're willing to go out and forecast across the State snowfalls and temperatures even out through the next weekend, which is further than the National Weather Service does at this time. What that means is we have earlier information about longer term impacts that we can prepare for — deploy the resources, the personnel and the equipment.

So I find this once again to be critically important in our preparations and our response to storms like this. We're continuing to see a lot of snow about 1 to 2 inches an hour in New York City. In the Long Island area, they're expecting to see up to 8 to 12 inches of snow, which is something that's more challenging to handle in that area than other parts of our State.

We're also transitioning to sleet tonight, sleet is dangerous. Sleet can also create icy hazardous conditions on the roads and sidewalks. And we've not seen — New York City as I have mentioned is going to see a foot of snow — We've not had that level of snow since 2021, so it's been a number of years.

The good news for us and the only good news is that the winds will not be a major factor here. This is often what we worry the most about is power lines coming down. The wind having squalls on the throughway and the visibility goes to zero, and you have multi-vehicle collisions. We're not expecting that but there could be isolated squalls in certain areas. We're still not out of the woods on that, but it's not going to be a statewide high wind event either.

There are parts of Long Island and New York City that could gust up to 30 to 35 miles an hour, so this is a factor as well. We're not expecting widespread power outages, as I mentioned. But that being said, it's always better to be prepared in advance than we have 5,500 linemen and women ready to restore power if necessary. And Con-Ed has brought in mutual additional assistance as well.

So what about traveling, those who are going to be on the roads? Number one, if you can be off the roads, that is the best advice. Stay off the roads, they're going to be slick, icy, snow covered. And if you can stay home with these extremely cold temperatures and hazardous roads, you and your family will be much safer.

So tomorrow's commute for those who are working, and we encourage other employers to allow their workers if possible to work remotely. We know there's many who cannot. And again, I thank our nurses and hospital personnel and medical personnel across the State who know they have to be out there — our first responders and others. But if you can avoid travel we'd want to have that happen as well. As I mentioned, State employees are working remotely on Monday.

We also want to make sure the plows can get through, Commissioner Dominguez knows this. And I've been a passenger in a plow and the biggest concern they have is their own visibility and making sure that they can do their jobs without worrying about the other vehicles around them. So do this to help not just yourself stay safe on the roads, but also our plow drivers.

And the good news for Downstate those who rely on public transportation. The MTA is planning on maintaining a weekend schedule, trains and buses will continue to run. Again, this is always subject to change. We'll be focused on snow removal on platforms and near stations, but we're concerned about keeping people safe as they get to their jobs.

We also have a number of special elections scheduled for Tuesday, February 3rd. And so the ones that are in New York City — in that area — we're going to be suspending early voting for today and tomorrow. So we want to make sure people mark their calendars if they want to vote early. We will be adding extra hours to help compensate for that.

So New Yorkers stay home — hunker down — root against the Patriots. That's up to you, that’s a personal decision. But also sign up for text alerts so you could be up to date with all the information we want to share with you. 333-111, after you type in your county and your borough, you'll get everything you need to know, and monitor all the local forecasts and warnings.

A couple of things as a pro in shoveling snow myself, make sure that you —- I'll give you a quick demonstration. Do not bend over to shovel, you bend down your knees. You want to bend down so you can protect your back. Also you don't have to have a high amount of snow on the shovel. I'll give you a demonstration outside if you want, but neighbors of mine have had heart attacks from shoveling too much snow. It's better to take multiple smaller bites at it. Lift smaller amounts of snow, toss it aside, but do not try to go for the big massive shovel full of snow. Because regardless of your health, this could be a cause of a heart attack or cardiac attack as well.

Also if you're indoors and you will be indoors, test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in case you have to use indoor space heaters. Dress in layers, cover every part of your body. I was outside yesterday, I had my face wrapped up in a scarf, ears covered and hand warmers in the gloves. There are ways to protect if you must be out there.

I've mentioned before how important it is to make sure your vehicle can save your life if necessary. Again, you must consider the worst case scenarios when you're going out. You do not know that what you think is just a safe ride to the grocery store or an appointment can result in you going off the road and having to rely on your vehicle if you're stuck in a snowbank. We've talked about having extra phone charges, make sure your phone is charged. Blankets, water, food, anything you think you would need to protect you.

And also protecting your pipes from freezing. Another pro tip just takes a long towel from the bathroom, roll it up and stick it in front of the door. It can stop a lot of wind from coming in or use the plastic sheets that you put on the windows with a blow dryer — it's kind of a fun thing to do.

This is also a good time to be a good neighbor, check on your elderly neighbors. I have shoveled the sidewalks of my neighbors when I was growing up. It's what we always did — our neighbors next door. Also watch out for pets, I know many of them have to go outside, but keep an eye on them and don't let them stay outside too long.

The bottom line is this, we're not through it. This is the beginning, we've been talking about this for days. Different parts of our State are being affected differently at different times, but this is a Statewide event. It is unrelenting, we don't expect any relief from this forecast at this time.

And all of our State agencies and I just had a chance to thank them a few minutes ago. They're working tirelessly around the clock and we're going to continue being flexible. As I mentioned we have had some of the coldest nights of the entire year and also some of them record lows. I want to make sure that we are protecting everybody. Be smart, exercise caution, and look out for each other.

So let me turn it over to Acting Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Terry O'Leary, to go through our other State preparations.