Rte 12 South: Nasty!

We just got back from Boonville about 20 minutes ago. Route 12 south from there is just nasty the whole way. It's not the worst it's ever been by any means, but use extreme caution. There's a reason for all these travel advisories to be in effect.

Driving Treacherous

While the roads are slick through most parts of Sauquoit, New Hartford and Utica, Route 12 South towards Waterville is very tough to drive. Not necessarily because of slippery conditions. It's more blowing snow than anything else. I urge all drivers to use extreme caution if you have to drive anywhere at all tonight.

In Boonville and Turin

Myself, Adam Musyt, Kristen Copeland and our photographer Tommy Geise are up in Boonville for the 5 PM show. We just got back from Turin and Snow Ridge. Here's the deal. It's sunny here. But the blowing snow is crazy. There are ground blizzard conditions at times, mainly around open fields. Driving can be an adventure at times. Route 12 was snowcovered entirely from Utica to Boonville. The roads weren't in bad shape north of Boonville though (12 D and 26). But when you pass fields, it's challenging. Of course, they haven't been dealing with too much snow either. On top of that, the air temperatures range from 0-5 above. Thankfully, we should see the wind die down and the blowing snow become a non-issue. We measured depths of about 20-25" in Turin...a lot of that due to compaction. We'll have more for you at 5.

North Utica Conditions Between 1:30 and 2:00 pm

1:30 pm: I just took a trip down Genesee Street in North Utica. The blowing and drifting snow is causing low visibility in the area. The big problem seemed to be in the area around the Thruway exit. At times you can't see the bridges over Genesee Street until you are almost on top of them.

Heading up Smith Hill in Deerfield was also an experience. At around 1:50 pm a tractor trailer was stopped in the road and a Deerfield DPW truck was in front of it. The DPW was trying to drop enough sand on the road so the tractor trailer could get enough traction to get up the hill.

We have a number of crews out in Central New York including NEWSChannel 2 Meteorologist Matt Lanza who will be blogging from the road in Northern Oneida County. Check back for his updates.

Let us know about the conditions in your area by selecting the comment option at the bottom of this message.

Ground Blizzard!

It's almost a ground blizzard out there at times. I travelled in today on the Thruway...between Utica and Herkimer it's periodic whiteout with flurries. The blowing snow is insane at times. As a weather nut, I'm looking forward to travelling up north toward the heart of this thing. We'll keep you posted when we know more!

Conditions in Utica

Heading down the hill this morning on my way to the Arcuri news conference the roads were fine, but it sure was cold out.

After the conference my photographer and I were off to the train station for some video. Now the flakes were beginning to fly. After getting enough video and spending just enough time inside to warm the body up, we were headed back outside. Our windshield was covered in snow. The flakes went from just dancing across the sky to running all over the place. The trek up the hill was also getting slippery. Good thing we had a four wheel drive car ( I don't even want to think about my trip home in a non four wheel drive car.)

As I sit here at my desk working on a story for 6pm news, I can no longer see my car out the only window in the newsroom. Looks like the wind is picking up and the news team is ordering in for lunch.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: Oneida County

The Oneida County Sheriff's Department is advising no unnecessary travel this afternoon due to the weather conditions. Several minor accidents have already been reported.

Check back throughout the day for more updates and reports from NEWSChannel 2 reporters. Also, let us know how the travel in your area is by selecting the comment option below.