NYC To See Foot Of Snow After Nor'easter Shifts Path, Cuomo Warns

NEW YORK, NY — New York City could now see a foot of snow Wednesday after a shift in the looming nor'easter's trajectory, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The estimated snowfall for the city increased to about 12 inches as the storm tracked more to the southeast, the governor told reporters late Wednesday morning.

"People should be safe," Cuomo said. "This is a serious storm; take it seriously.”

Previous forecasts indicated up to 11 inches of snow could hit parts of New York City as the second major storm in a week blows through.

The storm started off slowly Wednesday morning but will pick up in the afternoon and early evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The city could see two to four inches of snow fall per hour during a "very intense burst of snow" later, the mayor said.

De Blasio warned New Yorkers to stay off the roads, use mass transit and leave work early if at all possible.

"Even though this has started as less of a storm than what we expected, later on it’s going to be very intense, particularly around the rush hour," de Blasio told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

New Yorkers should expect delays on the subways and at airports, Cuomo said. Around 1,600 flights have been canceled at LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark airports, said Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The lower Hudson Valley, still struggling to recover from last Friday's powerful nor'easter, will be hit hardest with 12 to 18 inches of snow, Cuomo said.

Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Sullivan counties remain under a state of emergency. Those counties are home to more than 90 percent of the 26,000 people still without power after last week's storm, said John Rhodes, chairman of the state's Public Service Commission.

The state is deploying more plows, personnel and equipment to the city and the Hudson Valley to match the storm's new path, Cuomo said.

"It’s not unusual that these storms shift, and when they shift, we shift," Cuomo said. "So we’re going to be shifting our deployment of resources."

(Lead image: Photo by Danielle Woodward/Patch)