Storm Blog

If you’re weather-obsessed enough to be reading this blog today, you’ll probably enjoy Chris Serico’s interview with Fox 5 meteorologist Nick Gregory of New Rochelle. Check it out “here.”:http://remote.lohudblogs.com/2007/03/16/from-sun-to-snow-gregorys-the-man-from-new-ro-in-the-know/

My colleagues across the river in Rockland report the “storm is in full force”:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070316/UPDATE/703160439 over there.

Erik Mathews of Irvington shovels his neighbor’s driveway today. (Stuart Bayer / The Journal News)

From David McKay Wilson, Yonkers reporter:

Since 5 a.m. this morning, 30 salt trucks, and 13 sanitation vehicles with salt spreaders and plows have been working on the 360 miles of roads that criss-cross the state’s fourth largest city.

By mid-afternoon, icy conditions were cropping up on some streets, and the salt trucks were trying to keep up with the changing conditions.

“We want to get back to the main roads to hit the ice before it gets a chance to get bad,” said city spokesman David Simpson.

Due to the snowstorm, Mount Kisco officials are prohibiting parking on all village streets from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Vehicles will be ticketed or towed.

Residents can get free parking in all Mount Kisco municipal parking lots during the snow emergency.

Our transportation reporters say: All Bee-Line bus routes in Westchester are delayed because of the weather. Some bus service in Rockland has been suspended due to the snowstorm while others might soon stop operating.

In Westchester:

These bus routes are operating with detours: Route 2 – standard snow detour in Yonkers; Route 15 – standard snow detour in Cortlandt and Yorktown; Route 16 – no service to Lexington Avenue and Strawberry Road in Mohegan Lake and no service between Jefferson Valley Mall and Baldwin Place; Route 19 – no service to downtown Chappaqua.

ParaTransit service is running with up to 30 minute delays.

In Rockland:

Transport of Rockland (TOR) Route 93, 95, and Loops 1, 2 and 3 was suspended about 2:30 p.m.

Service on TOR Routes 92, 97 and 94 will continue, as long as weather and road conditions permit, until about 6 p.m.

The TOR Ferry Express shuttle and the TOR Route 59 and 91 will remain in service for the rest of today, but only for as long as road conditions allow.

The Tappan Zee Express will remain in service for the rest of the day, but commuters should expect possible delays.

The TRIPS paratransit bus service is operating for previously scheduled, medically essential trips only and will end service today by 4:30 pm.

Residents can check in with the county’s Transit Information Line at 364-3333 for service updates.

Roger Kaufman, a 63-year-old accounting manager who lives in Carmel, called reporter Diana Costello during his afternoon commute home from White Plains to complain about the treacherous driving conditions on I-684.

“The buildup on the side of the road doesn’t seem like a plow has come through here all day,” he said at about 3 p.m. “It’s pathetic.”

Another Westchester County event affected by the storm: “The Playland Ice Casino’s weekly Party Night scheduled for tonight, Friday, March 16, is canceled due to inclement weather.”

Picture by staff photographer Stu Bayer.

Here’s a picture from this morning’s tour bus crash, which is still tying up traffic on I-684 in Southeast. We’re awaiting an update from police on the incident, but photographer Frank Beccera Jr. offers this caption: “Brewster and Croton Falls firefighters assist passengers off a bus following an accident on northbound Interstate 684 in Southeast March 16, 2007. The accident happened when two of four buses following each other crashed into each other after hitting a passenger car. There were only minor injuries and traffic northbound was backed up for miles. The uninjured passengers on the damaged bus were transfered to another bus.”