Blizzard and winter storm warnings have been issued for most of the area, with heavy snowfall early Thursday expected to be followed by damaging winds and frigid temperatures.
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The New York City Emergency Management Department issued a hazardous travel advisory for Thursday.
Alternate side parking regulations have been suspended for Thursday and Friday in New York City to facilitate snow removal. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect
RELATED: Winter weather emergency resources for the New York area
Towns across Long Island had their trucks in place and hit the streets as the storm moved in Thursday morning.
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Candace McCowan has more on conditions across Suffolk County:
Suffolk County bracing for blizzard-like conditons
PSEG Long Island has extra personnel standing by and completed some tree-trimming to help prevent power outages.
"If there is an extended outage and they need to use a generator, do not use it in the house because carbon monoxide is a silent and deadly killer," said Jeffrey Weir, Dir. of Communications for PSEG Long Island.
With the eastern end of Long Island expected to get dumped on the hardest, residents are encouraged to stay home if at all possible and to shovel out the hydrants on their blocks.
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RELATED: Snow on the way: Tips on staying cold, warm amid the arctic blast
Meantime in New Jersey, right on the frontlines of the Atlantic Ocean, Sea Bright, along with other Jersey Shore towns are bracing for what's forcasted to be blizzard like conditions Thursday.
"With high winds and some beach erosion they're calling for some flooding so that may be the only concern that we would have to deal with," said Det. Daniel Charnavsky, Police/OEM.
RELATED: 7 things to do to protect your home during the winter
Crews with the OEM, public works, and police department are on standby to work rotating shifts depending on how much snow accumulates along the coast.
"Most people here have everything pretty well taken, in loose furniture and things like that, so it shouldn't be too much of an impact on the homes themselves, the beach is going to get beat up if that is the case, Charnavsky said.
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