ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Crews are salting the roads on Sunday morning as the Rochester region braces for a major winter storm that’s already hit parts of the country.
All of New York and 36 other states are under a state of emergency due to the storm that could impact nearly 200 million Americans. Several local counties have issued travel advisories, meaning that drivers are urged to avoid all unnecessary travel. However, the roads will remain open. Here’s what to know about the travel advisories for each county:
- Ontario County’s travel advisory is effective immediately on Sunday until further notice.
- Wayne County’s advisory runs from 1 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday.
- Livingston County’s advisory is effective immediately on Sunday until further notice.
- Wyoming County’s advisory is effective starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday until further notice.
- Orleans County’s advisory is effective starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday until further notice.
- Genesee County’s advisory is effective starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday until further notice.
In addition, Monroe County is urging all residents to avoid unnecessary travel. The county is aiming to protect people who are homeless or live in substandard housing through Code Blue. RTS offers free transportation to the Open Door Mission (routes 15 and 21), House of Mercy (route 3), and Saving Grace Ministries for men (routes 4 and 5). RTS OnDemand also offers transportation to Oak Orchard (First Baptist Church) in Brockport. You can learn more about Code Blue and see a list of warming centers across local counties here.
State, county, and city crews are on standby to plow roads during the storm. Although widespread power outages are less likely, because there isn’t a major risk of ice forming on power lines, crews are also on standby across the state to respond to outages. News10NBC has issued a Red Alert for Sunday and Monday. You can see our latest forecast here.
Latest on salt supply
As News10NBC covered in December, rock salt prices have been going up locally amid an increased demand because of an early winter. However, leaders of Monroe County, the City of Rochester, and New York State all say they have enough salt to respond to the storm. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the State Department of Transportation is pre-treating roads ahead of the storm’s arrival…