Winter Storm Harper to arrive in Putnam County Saturday evening lasting through Sunday delivering a combination of rain, sleet, snow and ice and freezing temperatures.
Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell met with her Executive ICS Team to discuss the possible impact of Winter Storm Harper. The forecast calls for light snow to begin Saturday, January 19, 2019 evening which will increase in intensity before possibly changing to sleet and rain as warm front passes through very early Sunday morning. This transition will be brief as a bitter cold front moves into position and the storm will continue to deliver heavy snow. Any accumulated rain will quickly turn to ice causing ice patches. We are also anticipating increasing wind speeds Saturday through Sunday with wind gusts up to 25 MPH. Total accumulations across our area could reach over 12”. Temperatures on Monday will remain in the single digits.
“Our Emergency Operations Center will be activated during this event so we can continue to coordinate activities from our highway crews, police, fire and EMS” said Putnam County Executive Odell. “This storm has the potential to make quite an impact to our area and we need to stay ahead of it”. And that includes the public who are reminded to make sure they have sufficient medications, water and non-perishable food items. It’s also a good time to check the remaining fuel for your oil burner or propane appliance ensuring that you can go at least one week with needing to refuel.
Odell also wants residents to check on those that may need extra help saying, “Now is the time to reach out and check on your friends, neighbors and elderly especially those that may need a little extra help. The weekend is a good time to stay home and enjoy time with your family or friends, stay off the roads unless essential to allow our highway crews to do their job”.
Residents are reminded to report any outages to their local utility company. NYSEG can be contacted at 800-572-1131. Central Hudson Gas & Electric can be contacted at 845-452-2700. Both companies have an app available for download to track outages.
Central Hudson has already committed a local presence in our EOC during this storm.
Putnam County 9-1-1 is fully manned and the public is reminded that it should be used only for emergency requests for Police, Fire or EMS. Non-emergency calls should go directly to your local police, fire or EMS Corps. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department can be reached at 845-225-4300.
At this time Putnam County Public Transportation (PART) anticipates no impact on Transit services on Saturday, January 19, 2018, as a result of the winter storm. The PART system will operate if conditions permit on Monday, January 21. For information with regards to impacts on public transportation and changes in schedule, please listen to 100.7 WHUD, check the Official County Website, or call Dispatch on Monday morning at 845-878-7433 (RIDE).