Wind and Snow Issues for Weekend Travelers in New York State

New York State Electric and Gas says it’s ready if high winds bring down branches and power lines.

The National Weather Service in Binghamton is projecting wind gusts well over 20 miles per hour for the Greater Binghamton area with even higher winds to the east in Delaware and Otsego Counties as a cold front moves through and temperatures drop.

NYSEG says its storm readiness teams have been preparing crews and equipment and staging additional resources in areas expected to be hit by wind and possible icing conditions.

Travelers headed north to the Syracuse and Utica areas should be aware that those regions are under Winter Weather Advisories with a potential for three to seven inches of snow from 7 p.m. February 8 to Saturday afternoon.  The Syracuse area is also looking at wind gusts as high as 45 to 50 miles per hour through February 9.  In areas where snow does fall, this could cause for blowing and drifting and compromised visibility for motorists.

In the Wind Advisory areas like Sidney and Oneonta, winds are expected to be steady at 15 to 30 miles an hour with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour from 1 p.m. February 8 to 1 p.m. February 9.

Even in areas not under any advisories, temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s by late afternoon February 8 and wind chills of below zero figure back into the forecasts for the weekend.