New York Local News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― It was early welcome to winter across the tri-state area on Sunday. The storm brought more than an inch of snow to most of the region. Around the city, many people had shovels out - clearing sidewalks and driveways. But as the sun started to set -- the flurries changed over to rain - leaving a slushy mess on the streets.

In most places this was the year's first true snowfall -- a quick taste of what we can look forward to in the next few months. The first snow of winter was pretty to look at, but perilous. The first flakes always bring the highest concentrations of fender benders and slips and falls on the sidewalks.

Snow meant go slow the on roads of Union City New Jersey. "It's cold and nasty," said Union City resident Ruben Pavon.
 
On Manhattan sidewalks people walked with care to avoid slipping and sliding. They welcomed the sounds of shovels scraping pavement.

In Yonkers CBS 2 HD caught up with hard-working snow plow operators, who say their work is no where near done yet.

John Liszewski, the Yonkers Publilc Works Commissioner told CBS 2 HD "We have all our trucks out in full complement. We'll be working overtime all night and all day if necessary.:

There were some highway hassles today, but traffic was light. Public Safety officials are thankful for that, and glad the first snow was on a Sunday instead of a busy weekday.
 
"Luckily it was a quiet morning. It wasn't a busy morning so we didn't have a lot of traffic to worry about," said NYC Commissioner of Sanitation John Doherty. "That was a big help to us."

As day turned to night scarves were pulled tighter, caps came down over the ears and feet slammed into slush.

"We put additional personnel on for this evening's hours so we have full coverage through this evening because we are concerned about some icing later this evening before it turns to all rain," added Doherty.

A winter storm warning for Sussex County was to be in effect until 6 a.m. Monday. Forecasters said two to four inches of snow could fall there before the precipitation changes over to freezing rain, sleet and rain.

Rain is forecasted to fall on the Big Apple later Sunday evening.

According to the National Weather Service, most areas of New York state will be hit with some combination of snow, sleet, freezing rain and high winds by Monday afternoon.

Albany was expected to have five inches of snow by Monday afternoon, with most falling Sunday afternoon and evening.

Overnight, the region could expect sleet and freezing rain, followed by fresh snowfall Monday morning, meteorologist Bob Kilpatrick said.

"It's kind of a mess -- probably the best way to term it in one word," Kilpatrick said. "It's going to be a mixed event with snow and some sleet to the north."

Areas north of Saratoga will be hit harder by the sleet and snow, while the mid-Hudson region down to Poughkeepsie would probably only get an inch at most, he said.

The central Adirondacks and the Lake George region will get the most snow -- about 10 inches in some areas, Kilpatrick said. Roads will likely be icy around the region.

"Like in any type of winter weather event, it tends to get pretty bad," Kilpatrick said.

Further north, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton and Essex Counties were expected to avoid the bulk of the precipitation, but snow and sleet could move in overnight with the heaviest falling after midnight. Between 8 and 13 inches were expected in the higher elevations north and west of the Adirondacks.

In Central New York, 3 to 6 inches had fallen by Sunday afternoon, blanketing most areas between Binghamton and Syracuse.

The storm was expected to resume in that region by the early evening, bringing freezing rain and slippery roads. By morning the temperatures were expected to increase slightly, turning the precipitation to rain.

Some more northern areas, including Utica, were expected to be hit by freezing rain all night.

By Sunday afternoon Western New York had between three and five inches of snow throughout the region, followed by freezing rain in the afternoon.

Buffalo, Rochester and Niagara Falls were expected to have just rain, but snow could start falling by morning.

Areas south of Buffalo, and between Rochester and Oswego, could expect lake-effect snow Monday morning.

Monday morning Western New York will be hit by strong winds with some gusts as high as 50 mph near Lake Erie. It could cause some blowing snow that, combined with slippery roads, could create dangerous driving conditions.

Although the center of the storm remained in the Great Lakes region, snow dusted New York City streets and cars Sunday morning.

"We're just looking at a few inches" in the metropolitan area by evening, said National Weather Service meteorologist John Murray.

But high winds were predicted for Monday, when the center of the storm was expected to move east; gusts over 50 mph were possible in inland areas near the city and winds of 25 to 30 mph were possible elsewhere in the city, Murray said.

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