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

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul held a public safety storm briefing to update New Yorkers on expected extreme weather conditions.

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:

 I have my own Olympic team here. These are the gold medalists in fighting snow across our state and I'm really proud to be with them here today. We have Terry O'Leary, the Acting Commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services; Marie Therese Dominguez, the Commissioner of the State DOT; Major General Raymond Shields, adjunct General of the New York National Guard, Major; Bob McConnell, Troop Commander of the New York State Police; Frank Hoare, the Executive Director of the Thruway Authority, and Jim Cable, the State Fire Administrator for the New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services as well.

Well, on this day of blazing Olympic glory, New Yorkers are so proud of Team USA with both the men and the women winning the gold. We're especially proud of the New Yorkers who contributed to making this history. And it's a point of personal pride for me, as probably one of the few people in this room who actually watched the 1980 game. I was a student at Syracuse University and my job with the Varsity Pizzeria was to have the microphone and call out play by play of the game. Normally I called out the numbers of the pizzas, but I called out the games since it was on the radio and I told everybody. There was this joy that I will never forget when we all made history and the miracle on ice was complete. So, I was proud to witness that today at the same time I was getting a blizzard briefing. So it was a day we made history and it certainly was glorious for all of us. But I'll say this, we do not want to make history today when it comes to the weather.

When you look at the scale of the storm that's descending on our state and actually in some parts is starting already, this would be something the likes of which we've not seen in years. And what we're experiencing right now, which is lighter flurries throughout particularly Downstate, is really just the calm before the storm.

And I'm telling you, as we're standing here, the worst is yet to come. So do not take for granted that this is going to be it. It's going to exceed all expectations even now, so you need to be prepared for the worst. And in fact, New York City is bracing to make some history by being one of the top 10 worst winter storms in the last 150 years. So digest that for a second. That's the history we do not want to make today.

We're taking this so seriously because there are literally lives at stake. I'm here at the State Emergency Operations Center in Albany. It's the nerve center for our storm response. And again, this is my Gold Medal Olympic team. They train, they practice, they tabletop, they will put in the long hours to prepare 24/7. And they're the best. They're absolutely the best you can find in this entire country. So this is who we have on our team to go in, and fight Mother Nature over the next 24 hours. And they're seasoned pros and ready to really guide me and this entire state through any emergency.

So, again, people woke up this morning and said, “It's not so bad. It looks like it’s just a dusting,” but the day is young, my friends. The day is young. And so, we have to make sure that you're aware that in the next couple of hours, the light snow you see on Long Island and in New York City, in the Hudson Valley will transition very rapidly into heavier, wetter snow, which has the capability of doubting power lines, which mean people will be in the dark long on Long Island, and in New York City and lower Hudson Valley are literally in the direct eye of the storm. There's no getting around that.

We've looked at the most recent modeling just up to date in the last few minutes, and there is no way these predictions are wrong. It is coming and it's going to be hard-felt. And it's the first time in a decade that New York City has been under a blizzard warning as well as on Long Island and Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Duchess and Ulster counties now have been updated today to be in blizzard warning areas.

So the reason this is so dangerous now, and we have experts from Buffalo that came over here to help us manage this and they know blizzards, I know blizzards — but we're talking about a very densely populated area. And that is the danger as well as people not as experienced with dealing with the severity of a storm like this. And it's that combination of the higher population, the inexperience in dealing with this, that really is something that we're concerned about, which is why we've taken so many steps to be proactive and be ready for the worst. And it can absolutely be paralyzing if you attempt to drive in it.

Imagine driving with all the lights off. It's completely dark. There's no headlights. You are in complete darkness. That's what it feels like when you're driving through a blinding blizzard. You cannot see anything including the car or perhaps the snowplow in front of you. And we have countless cases where people have been harmed because they could not see the cars in front of them. So we're taking every precaution. Local bans will be going into effect later tonight. We want people off the roads. You should be doing this voluntarily, but we have the State Police who's going to enforce this. So be aware of that. New York City, 9 p.m. until noon tomorrow. All of Long Island is 9 p.m. till 9:00 a.m. for sure, and Westchester 9:00 p.m. until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.

So that means wherever you are in this region, 9 p.m. tonight, you'll have to stay there. So do not think you're going to visit mom and dad or your boyfriend or girlfriend and get on the roads at 10 p.m. and head home. It's not happening and it's not smart to do that either. For the counties without travel bans, we're also banning empty commercial vehicles and tandem tractor trailers. They're banned on I-84 as Commissioner Dominguez reported yesterday. And all state roads south of I-84 starting today at 4 p.m. That's for the empty commercial vehicles and tandem trailer vehicle tractors.

Commercial vehicles are also restricted to the right lane only so they don't slow people down. And I will tell you, I've seen this personally, when a tractor trailer jackknifes and blocks off a thruway or a major road, you could literally shut down an area for upwards of 36 hours. This happened in Buffalo a number of years ago. And what happens when people are stranded on the road? It's a desperate situation for moms with little kids in the car or someone who needs medical attention. We had buses with students trying to get back from sports events who were stranded for days, or a day and a half.

And so please, whatever you need — any groceries, any medicines you need to be refilled at the pharmacy, any pet food you need to have — do it right now because the clock is going to run out and you may not be on the roads after 9 p.m. tonight. And for those who rely on mass transit, which is many, many individuals in Downstate New York, expect some disruptions.

The MTA will do its very best to maintain normal service to the extent possible. As of right now, they'll run locally. Metro North will run on a weekend schedule and the Long Island Rail Road service will be suspended at 1 a.m. because it'll be dangerous and we want people to stay home. So, Mayor Mamdani announced an hour ago, his schools will be closed tomorrow. New York City schools will be closed, and we expect many in Long Island as well as the Hudson Valley to close as well.

So let's just speak briefly about the forecast. I wish I had better news. It's not great. We have actually updated snow amount projections. They don't seem to be going down. They seem to be going up — and some areas were going to be 12 inches — then 18 inches. Eighteen inches have now morphed into 24 inches. And so they've all picked up and we expect around 6 p.m. tonight. That's the witching hour for this storm. Everything's going to shift and the snow will accelerate, the wind will accelerate, and from that point on the conditions will be nothing but dangerous.

This blizzard will carry into midday tomorrow before tapering off Monday evening. That is the only good news is that it's not a multi-day duration blizzard, which we have experienced in other parts of the state. And the forecast totals, as I said, in New York City and Long Island, expecting two feet of snow. Two feet of snow, not over the next week, but in the next day.

And that is, that ferocity that I'm warning about, is going to come down heavy. You're not going to be able to see when the wind whips it up. The conditions are nothing but treacherous. Hudson Valley, 12 to 18 inches, Capital Region eight to 12 inches, and the rest of state is two to six inches. Now the wind gusts — I mentioned the wind, upwards of 60 miles an hour. We're talking about hurricane force winds whipping up the snow, and of course the shoreline, the coastline of Southern Westchester, New York City and Long Island. And the worst part will be Eastern Long Island. We're going to have coastal flooding as well. You should expect that there'll be coastal flooding. We already have resources deployed in those areas to be able to respond to that as well.

So what we're trying to do is prepare people. We've been in constant communication. I've called — either spoke to directly or left a message for every one of the county executives in this area. We've launched our preemptive offense, and I declared a state of emergency as the first part of this offensive position. Now 22 counties, we were up from 17 now to 22 counties have been added to our state of emergency regions. It's in effect. We've activated the National Guard. Thank God for the National Guard. We have over 100 members, more if necessary, staged across Long Island, New York City, and Lower Hudson Valley. And they've deployed an additional 25 vehicles to help with downstate response. They're ready to be nimble. They'll go over there if needed. They can do anything from helping individuals be rescued out of their vehicles or helping transport emergency personnel or medical personnel to their jobs. It’s truly lifesaving in these situations when they cannot be on the roads. And again, my teams are talking about how we stockpile equipment, so none of our counties affected have to worry about running out of equipment.

I've got reassurances. We have plenty of salt. This was a problem last year, but we have plenty of salt in our stockpiles, extra equipment and extra personnel ready to be on standby as well. And the DOT and Thruway Authority have more than 2,000 plows that have been out already clearing and prepping our roads, and they're not going home. They'll be out overnight and through the day tomorrow, and they'll work overtime — and sometimes good things happen in overtime, especially if you're watching hockey today. So we know that we're going to be working really hard and intensely. So I'm excited to know I have them on the ground because they are the very best.

As I mentioned, power outages. We have over 6,000 utility workers ready to get the power back on, but sometimes it is dangerous for them to be out there. Whether it's the live wires that could be on the ground or the winds are so high, it is just too dangerous for them to go up a pole and risk their own lives to get the power on. So, please be patient. If you lose power, certainly report it. But there's a very good chance we already know about it because we monitor this so closely. And their job is to get you in a safe situation with your power back on as soon as humanly possible and safely. So the restoration of powers I mentioned may take some time.

What you should be doing — I'm talking about what the state is doing, what localities are doing — but now let's talk about what us New Yorkers can be doing at this time. Like I said, keep track of your local forecast. You need to know what's happening. If you plan to travel, check the travel bans. If you want to use public transportation, check the schedules before you even leave your home because everything could have changed. And follow all the travel advisories and bans. Do not get pulled over by the State Police because you're just jeopardizing them and keeping them from doing other possibly lifesaving work. And if you're an employer downstate, please communicate with your employees now so they can perhaps allow for telework in situations where it's available. And if you can just work from home Monday, that's the smartest, best thing you could do. Probably would be more productive than getting stuck in a ditch on your way to work.

So, keeping supplies in your cars. Everybody should know this by now, but you've heard me say this for months: blankets, shovel, flashlight, extra batteries, your cell phone chargers, food, water, even extra clothes. And I'm going to let Marie Therese reiterate this because she says it better than anybody when she says, “Don't crowd the plow.” She says that in her sleep because she wants to keep the plow drivers safe. But if they get into an accident, that is a whole route that is not being serviced, and it is jeopardizing the safety of other motors as well. So please be smart and respect them and know they're doing their jobs. They're not trying to make your life miserable, but going slow in front of you — that's how they're supposed to do it. So I want to keep individuals safe when they're handling the snow themselves. For shoveling, you can watch my video for shoveling techniques. It has gone viral so I think everybody around the world knows how to shovel snow, but be smart about it. Don't lift too much, just a little bit at a time. Just start earlier in the day and don't wait till there's two solid feet on the ground before you start it. Try to jump out every couple of hours and, and remove what you have there.

Temperatures should improve a little bit. But that being said, you need to check on your neighbors, bring them some food, you know, make sure they have what they need if their power goes out, certainly check on your elderly neighbors or moms with little kids and take care of your pets. Don't let them outside for a long period of time.

So we're expecting the snow should melt. We're excited about the snow melting. I just received word from our top-notch weather system that there may be another storm at the end of the week, but not officially. We're hoping that is just alerting us that it is the possibility.

But the best thing you can do is text 333111, and that will connect you with your county or your borough, and you'll have all the latest emergency updates from your locality as well as from us. So other than that, just settle in. Keep watching replays of the Miracle on Ice from 1980, which I've seen a dozen times in the last day. I watched this morning’s again because it'll really make you excited to know how proud we are of our men who brought home the gold this morning. So watch some more Olympics. You know, read a book, catch up on the news. Call your family members. Call your moms. And yeah, we can do this.

You know, New Yorkers, we're tough, we're resilient, we're hardcore, but don't think that you are stronger than Mother Nature, okay? Do not try to outsmart mother nature. Stay home as much as you can. Enjoy the time either by yourself to just recharge yourself, recharge with your family members.

And so that's the best advice I have for you. And next time we talk, we'll probably be in the throes of the blizzard, which is just a few hours away from really gathering steam here. So I really just want New Yorkers to be safe. That's my number one priority. And with that, I'll turn it over to Terry O'Leary.

Thank you.