Video – New York Braces For Winter Snow Storm

NEW YORK [CBS] — The east coast is gearing up for the worst as a parts of our area prepare for the coming winter blast. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch from 6 p.m. Friday through Saturday afternoon for areas in New York, with parts of the Garden State under a Blizzard Warning until 7 p.m. tomorrow.

“It’s a big storm. It’s a quick storm. We’re in and out on Saturday,” said CBS 2HD’s meteorologist John Elliott.

Expected Snowfall:

The heaviest snowfall is expected during the overnight hours. The storm is headed our way, and some areas in the south received up to 24 inches of snow. However, a high pressure system was over our area Friday, mitigating the amount of snow we’ll receive.

New York City, Long Island and to the west, between three and six inches of snowfall were expected, with six inches more likely in parts of Morris and Warren County.

“Six plus to the south,” said Elliott. “Parts of Middlesex, Monmouth County, definitely, you’re going to be dealing with significantly greater numbers than, say Rockland or Westchester County.”

“And we say one foot plus for Ocean County down to Cape May. Some of the computer models are hinting that you could see 19 or 20 inches of snow in south Jersey.”

On The Roads:

Crews all across the tri-state area were ramping up efforts Friday to keep the roads safe, especially in coastal areas. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show that the Big Apple was “on the ready,” with salt spreaders and plows positioned to go.

The City of Long Branch got all its plows ready to go, along with an enormous stockpile of salt. It’s more than enough, they said, for whatever comes their way. “We’re ready. We have everything. Every piece of equipment is up and running,” said Fred Migliaccio.

Also ready to run was tiny Sea Bright, with its small plows, rescue vehicles, and one single snow blower. Chief John Sorrentini said they’re “just taking it as it comes.”

The mayor of Deptford, however, was concerned over the cost of the post-storm clean-up. “It certainly it has an effect on the budget. We’re only in February too. We still have the rest of February and March, so we’re holding our breath for rain.”

On The Rails:

New Jersey Transit will offer full system-wide ticket cross-honoring Saturday. No matter what kind of ticket or pass you have you’ll be able to use it on the train, bus or light rail.

Also, the Long Island Railroad has a new snow policy. Once the snow mark reaches 10-inches, service will be suspended. It’s a preemptive strike before the first snowflake falls this this time around to prevent a repeat of the nightmare 150 passengers lived through during a December blizzard.

The passengers were stranded on a freezing train stuck in the snow without power or working toilets. The Ronkonkoma-bound train ride should have taken only an hour and 20 minutes. Instead it took six, with passengers stranded for three.

“There was no bathroom except one that was flooded. It was the biggest concern for most people,” said stranded passenger Derek Gumin. “For me it was the cold that was killing me. My jacket was my blanket.”

The train departed Sunday morning on December 20 at 2:54, but at 5:05 a.m. it was stuck east of Wyandanch. At 5:17 a rescue team was dispatched and a tow train left Hicksville. At 6:20 repair efforts failed. A new train was rerouted and the rescue train arrived, but by then some passengers, who were told nothing, were frantic.

“When no information was coming, they started to knock out emergency windows and they were attempting to get off, which they were not allowed to do,” passenger Joe Iannello said.

At 7:30 the disabled train was pushed to Farmingdale. At 8 the new train took on the stranded passengers. At 8:45 it arrived at Ronkonkoma. The LIRR admitted it’s error. “We apologized to those commuters. It was a great inconvenience. We recognize that and we’ve instituted a review of the incident, top to bottom,” LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said.

Hence, this new policy, that you’re better off stuck in Penn Station than on a broken down train somewhere on the Railroad’s 11 passenger branches.

In The Air:

The airlines were also preparing for the storm Friday. Several major carriers were waiving fees for passengers who want to change their flying dates to avoid big delays. The weather waivers were being issued by Delta, United, Continental, US Airways and Airtran. The catch, however, was that passengers must rebook on flights within the next few days to avoid the fees.

N.J. Residents Prepare:

Snow stuck around from Monday’s storm and residents said they just can’t catch a break. Across New Jersey, a storm of shoppers has been hitting the stores, with bread, milk and all the essentials still high on the list Friday.

“We live three minutes away. We certainly didn’t want to have to come out tonight, but we’re not going to be able to be here tomorrow. I don’t think there will be anything on the shelves,” said Dan Banfe of Cherry Hill.

To shovel all the staples off the shelves, extra staff was brought in to check out the blizzard of business.

In Toms River, shoppers were just trying to get a handle on the coming storm with shovels. “I figure if we’re getting two feet of snow I need something stronger,” said Alison Rivera of Brick.

“The last time I was out there for two hours breaking my back and cursing the whole way,” Toms River resident George Breitweiser said.

Having just one shovel just won’t cut it. “When there is only one shovel guess who gets to use it? Me,” Breitweiser said, adding he hopes help will come from his 19-year-old son, “who lays in bed while I’m doing it.”

“I figure if we’re getting 2 feet of snow I need something stronger,” added Alison Rivera of Brick, N.J.

“My husband, I told him we were here so he asked for another shovel, but he’s probably going to come out and buy a snow blower cause his back still hurts from the 30 inches we cleared last time,” replied Shannon Ziccardi of Toms River.

Weekend Forecast:

Saturday: High 29, Low 25
Cloudy. Snow likely, mainly in the morning. Total snow accumulation of 3 to 6 inches possible. Blustery. Near steady temperature in the upper 20s. Northeast winds around 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Sunday: High 29, Low 19
Sunny. Highs in the lower 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.