[UPDATE BELOW] Mayor de Blasio lifted the city-wide travel ban this morning after that devastating blizzard turned out to be just a bunch of stupid snow. There's about 7.8 inches in Central Park this morningnot the 24 inches or more that was expectedand current forecasts don't call for much more additional accumulation today. And there is certainly no reason to doubt those forecasts.
The MTA is also resuming service system-wide this morning, but it's going to take hours for trains and buses to get back up to full speed. Staten Island Ferry service has resumed.
New York State has updates on the storm here. Mayor de Blasio will appear on CNN's New Day at 8 a.m. to update New Yorkers on the storm, and Governor Cuomo is giving a press conference now.
Update 8:05 a.m.: Cuomo says subway service will resume at 9 a.m. and, by noon, the subways should be back to Sunday-level service, which is about 60% of weekday service. The MTA expects the system to be back to a normal weekday schedule tomorrow. PATH train service will resume around 9:30 a.m.
Cuomo cautioned that the roads are still dangerous, and there is ice lurking under the snow in some places. "If you don't have to travel today, you don't want to be traveling today," Cuomo warned. "While roads are passable, they are not clear."
Asked if officials overreacted to the storm, Cuomo reminded reporters of the huge snowstorm that crippled Buffalo in Novembera storm that Cuomo said he underestimated. "You make big decision based on the best information you have," Cuomo said, adding, "I do not criticize weather forecasters."
Cuomo also posited that taking the trains out of service and implementing a travel ban enabled the city to bounce back faster, because the roads were clear for plows to get through and trains weren't stranded. "If you tally it up, I don't know that this wasn't the most prudent course," Cuomo said.
We'll update as more info comes in, but for now here's Cuomo's official announcement:
The travel ban in the Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester counties), Nassau County, and New York City is lifted effective at 7:30 a.m. I-84 as well as the Thruway have been reopened. Drivers should use extreme caution and prepare properly as driving conditions remain poor and other states still may have travel bans in effect.The travel ban for Suffolk County remains in effect.
System wide service for the MTA and PATH is expected to resume this morning and further updates will be provided at 8 a.m. Longer suspension can be expected on parts of the LIRR reaching Eastern Long Island.
More information about the reopening of transit will become available by 8 a.m. New Yorkers should continue to exercise extreme caution.
Snow accumulation overnight on Long Island was heavy, and the New York City and Hudson Valley regions experienced moderate precipitation. According to the National Weather Service, the region should expect snowfall, wind and low temperatures, with especially heavy snowfall on Eastern Long Island, as today progresses. A blizzard warning remains in effect through midnight for Suffolk County.
Source: http://gothamist.com/2015/01/27/snowpe_back_to_work.php
