Snow plows in central New York are already out treating roads ahead of the double-digit snowfall expected to fall in the next 36 hours, which is coming at a bad time for travel.
Onondaga County Transportation Commissioner Brian Donnelly said by nightfall his crews will be out in full force prepping roads. Snow and rain is expected to increase overnight and leave travelers for the Thanksgiving holiday with some hazardous conditions.
"Tomorrow may be a little bit unique in the fact that there may be higher volumes (of cars) all day long," he said.
State officials are warning drivers of icy roadways. The state's plows will be out around the clock, said Gene Cilento of the New York Department of Transportation. He's asking drivers to be patient with the plow crews, which operate at 35 m.p.h.
"Drivers should understand that the plows are out there to make the road conditions better," he said.
Plow crews are more often working two or three plows wide to better clear the entire roadway, Cilento said. Any heavy amounts of rain overnight could wash away road salt already down, which will mean crews will have to double back.
The latest National Weather Service forecast has snowfall increasing throughout the evening. That will change to rain overnight for areas east of Syracuse. Snow is expected to taper off slightly during the day Wednesday and then increase again by evening.
Snowfall will be heavier along Lake Ontario, as lake effect snow mixes in with the Nor'easter. Watertown could see around 14 inches by the time the storm is finished.
With this being the first big snowstorm of the winter, emergency management officials are urging people to take extra caution and restock storm supplies.
"Monitor the weather and don't take chances traveling," Oswego County Emergency Management Director Dale Currier said. "If you need to postpone the trip or start early, that's often a good bet."
Here's list of resources to stay on top of the storm:
Flight delay info from the FAA. Or visit syrairport.org
Emergency alerts and advisories from New York State
You can track road conditions in the state here
Amtrak tweets service delays at @AmtrakNEC
For Greyhound bus status, call 1-800-231-2222
National Weather Service Binghamton and Buffalo offices. You can also follow them on Twitter @NWSBinghamton and @NWSBuffalo
