Winter storm pulls away after dumping heavy snow; frigid air won't budge | Live updates

24 hours from now, city work crews will begin treating the city's bridges, highways and side streets in the first phase in the city's battleplan for all five boroughs.

N.J. Burkett has the latest on how NYC is preparing for the snow storm.

The salt trucks will roll out on Saturday.

Pre-snow treatment will begin on roads on Friday on all highways, major streets and bike lanes.

About 2,000 sanitation workers will be on 12-hour shifts beginning Saturday morning.

More than 2,000 plows, 700 salt spreaders, 700 million pounds of salt on hand for the weekend.

"You're going to see a massive response to what really is one of the biggest storms the city has seen in years," Joshua Goodman with NYC Department of Sanitation said.

Sanitation commanders are determined to keep the city's streets and highways passable and to keep the buses moving. As for closing the schools on Monday, Mayor Mamdani says the decision will not be an easy one.

"Parents feel one way about this. Students feel very differently about this. What I want to make sure, however, is that we are making a decision that does not have a massive impact on people's day to day lives, not only this coming next few days, but also for the school year in its entirety," Mamdani said.

Snowstorms have a way of punishing mayors who miscalculate.

In 1969, a blizzard left much of the city snowed-in for days and nearly ended the political career of Mayor John Lindsay.

When a similar storm hit in 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Bermuda and later called it his "character-building moment."

In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio grossly underestimated a storm and commuters were stranded in every corner of the city.

In 2024, Mayor Eric Adams ordered students to learn from home, and the system crashed.

Mayor Mamdani says he's confident.

"What we are asking of New Yorkers is to take every precaution they can in their own life and what we will deliver to them is a city government that is going to meet them. They're doing everything in our power to make this a weekend that they will not have to remember any months from now," Mamdani said.

New Yorkers who spoke to Eyewitness News seem willing to trust their new mayor.

"Yeah, I think he's got it under control." one Brooklyn resident said.

"The city has an infrastructure in place, regardless of who the mayor is. That is a well-oiled machine. I've seen the orange salt trucks usually poised, usually waiting to roll. And I think the city has well-entrenched battle plans because after all these years of constant snowstorms, I think we have a pretty good infrastructure set to go," a Queens resident said.

Preparations are already underway for this weekend's winter storm, including in New Jersey, where some officials have reported a shortage of salt.

CeFaan Kim has more from Hoboken.

In Essex County, officials met to make sure everyone is on the same page ahead of the storm.

They said there are going to be heating centers opened up across the county way ahead of the first snowfall so that people can get to them safely if they need to.

They are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Essex County says they have all the plows and salt spreaders they need to tackle what may be coming on Sunday and have more than enough salt to get the job done. They are also making sure all of their municipalities have the salt that they need for local roads.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also weighed in with a message for residents.

"Already been on the phone with a lot of the counties to make sure they have what they need," Sherrill said. "We'll be pushing out information on forecasting from the Office of Emergency Management. So, yes, but that said, I would encourage everyone to, you know what, have a great family day at home this weekend. Play some board games. Don't go out in this. Stay off the streets if you can."

As far as schools are concerned of course, it will be up to individual school districts and superintendents to decide if there is going to be a school on Monday.

The executive in Essex County is saying that they will make sure that all of the roads are clear for safe travel on Monday in case schools are open.

Gov. Kathy Hochul had an urgent message for New Yorkers on the looming winter snowstorm set to hit the Tri-State this weekend.

"New York City, Long Island, Hudson Valley. This is coming for you," she said. "Upwards of one foot of snow is possible. Now these projections, predictions are changing by the hour. So, take it seriously. It could actually impact the morning commute on Monday."

Eyewitness News meteorologists have an updated map of potential snowfall totals in the New York City metropolitan area.

Areas well north and west of New York City could see accumulations of a foot or more of snow, with bullseye regions including northwestern New Jersey, the Hudson Valley and eastern Pennsylvania.

The area around the city and Long island, as well as much of New Jersey, could land in the 6-to-12-inch range, but those numbers could be impacted by mixing with sleet or freezing rain, which is likely to tamp down totals the farther south you go.