MORE THAN 23,000 LOCALS WITHOUT POWER AS SNOW KEEPS FALLING
Thousands of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. customers have no power - 11,067 in Dutchess County, 12,297 in Ulster County - as snow continues to fall in the Hudson Valley.
The snow will likely continue until midnight, said meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Albany.
CONTRIBUTE: Your snow photos and tweets
The power outages have mostly been caused by tree limbs, though there have been car accidents involving poles and wires, said Central Hudson spokesman Chris Valdez. They hope to restore power to everyone by Thanksgiving, and crews will be working throughout the night.
"This is a pretty significant storm for late November," Joe Villani of the National Weather Service in Albany said. "We haven't had a storm like this in November since 2002."
Not long before 5 p.m., the Weather Service reported five inches of snow in Poughkeepsie, nearly six inches in Rhinebeck, seven-and-a-half in LaGrange and four in Salt Point. About 10 to14 inches of snow is expected in total.
Driving conditions have been treacherous today, as many took to the roads on one of the busiest travel days of the year - the day before Thanksgiving.
First responders are answering a near-steady stream of calls for car accidents, fires and wires down in roadways, all over Dutchess County.
The Pawling Fire Department is among many that answered multiple calls Wednesday.
"Just getting our equipment and personnel to the scene was a chore," said Pawling fire Chief Everett White, in reference to road conditions.
INTERACTIVE: Snowstorms in the Hudson Valley
There were no planned road closures in the area for non-commercial traffic, according to state DOT spokeswoman Gina DiSarro, though "that could always change."
The state issued some commercial traffic restrictions on portions of Interstate 84 and the New York State Thruway. The Thruway closed at 7 a.m. to long tandem vehicles from New York City to Albany in both directions, according to 511ny.org's website.
Most of the flights to and from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh were cancelled, according to its website.
How does this impact you?Share your photos, thoughts, road conditions etc. Use #pjsnow on Instagram and Twitter, then visithttp://pojonews.co/snowpics.
With all that in mind, many local residents decided to stay home today and some prepped for the holiday. Many people have meals to cook and guests to entertain.
"My three girls and I were playing in the snow," said Town of Poughkeepsie resident Lisa Pizzola. "They are settling down with some hot chocolate. Now it's time to bake pumpkin pie and spinach quiche."
"I'm inside, cooking like a fiend," said Mary Johnston of Wappingers Falls.
Check train, plane, bus and other travel availability before venturing out. Need gas for that snow blower? Generator? Get it early. Have to travel? Carry a shovel in your vehicle, don't forget the cell phone charger and consult road or mass-transit availability at your destination. Snow-slowed airports often trigger delays in cities' airports far away because of congestion/closings. In short, a plane may not depart from a warm-weather area if it's heading to a snow-blasted region. That can back up other air traffic as crews don't get to cities where they're expected, delaying other flights.
Meanwhile, as you do dual prep -- storm and holiday -- some tips:
Keeping food fresh
If your refrigerator is full of all kinds of food for a Thanksgiving feast, break out the coolers and fill them with some ice, said John Maserjian, spokesman for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. If the storm causes a power outage, the freshness of your turkey and all those trimmings could be in jeopardy. With coolers placed outside — where temperatures Wednesday night could drop to 20 degrees — Thanksgiving dinner could be saved.
Maserjian said the utility is not expecting widespread outages. But if you lose power, he advised, call 845-452-2700 to report the outage.
Trek for turkeys
AAA says 46.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday. But with the looming snowstorm, Capt. John Watterson of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office offered some advice.
"The biggest thing that we encourage is for people to stay home, if they can," Watterson said.
If you have to travel, Watterson said, leave extra time. And if the region gets pounded by snow, clean your car off so you can see and so snow does not fly off onto other cars, blinding other drivers.
"With a snowstorm of this magnitude," Watterson said, "it's very dangerous to be on the roads."
Road warriors
If you do venture out on the roads to reach your holiday destination, you might take comfort in the state Department of Transportation's plans to respond to the storm.
Major roads, including Route 9, Route 9G, Route 44 and Route 55 in Dutchess are treated in advance with a salt-water solution to prevent icing, said DOT spokeswoman DiSarro. Officials geared up with 216 plows and more than 76,000 tons of salt to cover roads in Dutchess, Columbia, Ulster, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.
The DOT banned tandem tractor-trailers from Interstate 84 today, DiSarro said.
Stock up
Break out that snow shovel — and don't forget to buy a new one, if necessary.
Locals spent Tuesday stocking up on supplies that will help them salt and shovel their way out of today's projected snowfall, said Jenn Davies, office manager of Davies Hardware in Poughkeepsie.
"Last year, we had shortages of everything ... this year (residents) are really preparing," Davies said. "They're buying rock salt, snow brushes, shovels, batteries, flashlights, 30-amp plugs" for generators.
Get the kids out
The kids are off from school for three days. Even college students will have some extra time off, as Dutchess Community College announced that the school would be closed today due to the impending storm.
Keeping the kids occupied can be as easy as letting them loose with a sled on a hill, and Dutchess County has at least two great locations for sleigh riding, if you can make it to one.
College Hill Park, on North Clinton Street in the City of Poughkeepsie, and Mills Norrie State Park in Staatsburg, have long been popular spots to go sleigh riding.
Charge your electronics
As long as you have power, charge your cellphone. Charge your laptop. Charge your back-up batteries. If you lose power, you can use your laptop to recharge your cellphone, but it's better to keep everything fully charged as long as possible. In a pinch, car chargers can be used, so keep a tank full of gas as well.
Shoppers
Visit most grocery stores right before Thanksgiving and you're likely to find packed aisles as customers search for the last ingredient they need — or the entire Thanksgiving meal. And with a major storm in the forecast, you could have market mayhem.
"A&P in Hopewell was mobbed" Tuesday afternoon, said Hopewell Junction resident Ken Lenczewski.
"Folks are out doing Thanksgiving shopping (Tuesday) in anticipation of the storm," said Wappingers Falls resident Gail Kalinoski, who said her local Adams Fairacre Farms was packed that morning.
The assistant store manager at that Adams, Bob Churchill, said it's hard to tell what will happen to shoppers' plans today.
Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518 Twitter: @pojonschutzman
John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo
SOCIAL MEDIA
How is the snow forecast affecting your Thanksgiving plans? Share your thoughts, photos and road conditions on Twitter, Instagram or both. Use #pjsnow and then look for your posts at http://pojonews.co/snowpics.
ONLINE
Visit Poughkeepsiejournal.com for the latest weather alerts and updates.