'In ice, 4-wheel-drive means nothing.' DPW crews urge drivers to stay off roads tonight

Despite battling numerous heavy snowstorms this winter, DPW crews are especially concerned about Monday night's storm because of the amount of ice that could coat the Hudson Valley.

News 12 Staff

Feb 15, 2021, 5:26 PM

Updated 1,391 days ago

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Despite battling numerous heavy snowstorms this winter, DPW crews are especially concerned about Monday night's storm because of the amount of ice that could coat the Hudson Valley.
Officials are urging people to stay home because roads are expected to be particularly dangerous.
"Ice is the most terrifying thing. In ice, 4-wheel-drive means nothing. Actually, the fact of the matter is that 4-wheel-drive is worse on ice than anything. The thing we want our residents to know is just stay off the roads, let us do our jobs," says Yorktown Highway Superintendent Dave Paganelli. Paganelli says it's all hands-on deck starting Monday night, meaning all 45 employees at the Yorktown highway department will be maintaining and monitoring the roads. They say pre-treatment with salt is the priority before the first ice pellets make landfall. 
"You can't fight ice from the top down, you've got to fight ice from the ground up. It's just a matter of how severe the rain becomes that determines how quickly it washes off whatever material you have on the ground." Residents are getting their groceries and running errands before sundown.  
"Basically, I'm going to get a few groceries and stay home like everybody else…I'm just worried about the power outages," says Bruce Palmieri. With the very real possibility of power outages from the ice, Con Edison is urging residents to keep extra batteries and flashlights on hand. They also say it's important to immediately notify them of outages so they can respond as quickly as possible. Orange and Rockland Utilities tell News 12 they are pulling in an additional 100 workers because over a half inch of ice is expected. They say ice can build quickly and likely to bring trees, branches and power lines down.