CHEEKTOWAGA, NY (WKBW) — The question is — just how ready are you for our first blast of wintry weather?
Erie County leaders warn a significant storm is scheduled to hit northern Erie County and wants motorists, residents, and everyone to prepare.
“So there will be areas of the county in Western New York well, it might be sunny out. but it could be snowing like cats and dogs just north or south of you,” explained Mark Poloncarz, Erie County Executive.
The storm is expected to begin Thursday evening and into Friday and the weekend.
@markpoloncarz warning you to be ready for snow storm that’s to begin Thursday night. @ErieCountyDPW will have 37 plows for five districts ready to go. @WKBW https://t.co/rO9d7Lk4By pic.twitter.com/tkevfGln8j
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) November 15, 2022
Poloncarz is asking you to be prepared for a snowstorm because this storm could dump two feet of snow or more through a 20-mile area of the county.
“But don't try to drive into an area if we're getting rates of two or three inches per hour, because that's when it gets tough. And as our plow drivers can attest to, the one thing that makes it really difficult for them to plow roads is when people get stuck on the roads,” remarked Poloncarz.
I asked the county executive about what he thinks schools will do.
Right now he’s been in touch with the superintendents across the county, sharing storm information, but a decision has been made yet on school closings.
“I think they're concerned also about Friday. If there's six inches of snow on the ground here, the schools are gonna be open. But if we do get two inches of snow per hour from midnight to 6 a.m. That's a lot of snow and then if you're talking about anything relating to the remainder of the day, we could be talking about two feet during school time,” replied Poloncarz. “But this is going to be a significant event for the first major snowfall in the region. It is a concern. We know there's a lot of new Western New Yorkers new Buffalonians who may have never driven into the snow. They're in for a treat”.
At Ed Youngs hardware on Main Street in Williamsville customers were coming in to get ready for the storm.
“Salt, shovels, and snow blowers — we are almost running out of snow blowers already and we really haven't had measurable snow yet,” explained Dean Cattieu, Ed Youngs Hardware.
Cattieu tells me it's been a busy week of customers wanting to buy shovels, salt and snow blowers.
The salt shelf was already depleted and the shop was getting ready to put more out.
But if you're coming in for a snow blower, they are going fast. They tell me they are almost running out.
“With snow blowers, there's a lot of procrastination— obviously because of the cost involved, but it's something that they buy once every 20 or 25 years if they take care of it, so it's not something they think about every day,” Cattieu noted.
The store still has plenty of snow shovels if you're looking to grab one.
Dan Whalen of Williamsville was buying some small shovels for his two young grandchildren.
He’s still trying to get his car ready for snow.
“I’ve got an appointment at 11 o'clock Thursday for tires at Dunn Tire, so I kind of waited 'til the last minute also,” laughed Whalen.
But while Whalen is still snow-prepping his car, he says he is ready at his house.
“What about for your driveway? Do you have a contractor? Do you do it yourself?” Buckley asked.
“Well I turned 70 this year and I was thinking about getting a contractor, but no, I just filled up the gas tank of the snow blower and I also have a battery-operated snow blower,” Whalen said.
Polocarz stressed the importance of making sure your vehicle is snow ready.
“You don't want to be driving down the road stuck on the road and look in your car and not be adequately prepared. You want to ensure that you have gloves hats, other types of things scarves in your car. You want to ensure you have water in your car. You want to make sure that your phone is adequately charged. Make certain that you have adaptive uses so you can charge your phone in the car because when you're talking about snowfall that falls around two inches per hour or greater whiteout conditions are possible snow can accumulate on the road very quickly,” Poloncarz noted.
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