Snow Storm Leads To Slick Roads, Dangerous Conditions Across Tri-State Area

NEW CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Slick roads caused dangerous conditions across the Tri-State Area on Wednesday evening.

Parts of New City in Rockland County looked like a postcard, but it was best to enjoy the pretty snow by looking out your window with the roads getting more dangerous by the minute.

It was the kind of night where driving down even the slightest hill called for the hazards.

"Oh my god, this is crazy. I didn't think it was gonna come down this crazy," said Lisa Watson, of New City.

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It's one of the biggest snow storms the Tri-State Area has seen in years.

Route 17 in Bergen County, New Jersey, went from brine-coated blacktop to snow-covered right around dinnertime, and it just became more slippery from there.

From Bergen into Rockland, which could see some of the highest accumulations in our area, the wind whipped up the snow and made it tough to see at times.

By early evening, Bergen and Rockland counties were getting clobbered. Some drivers got stuck as the first few inches stuck to the streets.

Shoppers who stopped at New City Shopping Center had to brush off their cars after being inside for just a few minutes on Dec. 16, 2020. (Credit: CBS2)

CBS2's Jessica Layton caught up with a few drivers at New City Shopping Center on Main Street. They were brushing off their cars after just being inside a few minutes to grab a bite to bring home. They say the coating of snow from the storm made streets extremely slick.

"Good thing I have four-wheel drive," Francisco Hilario said.

"How important is that four-wheel drive already today?" Layton asked.

"Yeah, right now, you definitely need it because I had it on two-wheel drive, it wasn't holding up," Hilario said.

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"You put the brights on, you can't see nothing. All of the snowflakes falling real fast and everyone trying to get home safely," said Socrates Dimataris.

Others were running out to get fuel.

"I came to get gas for my generator, just in case we lose power," one man said.

Others came out for food. Nurse Steve Karpes, of Goshen, planned to drop dinner off for his family before heading back to work, driving carefully.

"It's coming down fast. Some of my employees, they called out already, they can't even go to work," he said. "I gotta drive all the way to Goshen."

RELATED STORY: How Much Snow Is Expected In The Tri-State Area?

Any drivers who do have to be out are reminded to give plow drivers their space.

Rockland County Highway Department is using huge plows, some that span as wide as 24 feet. You don't want to be in the way of that.

No major problems have been reported in Rockland County so far, but winds began picking up late Wednesday, causing some concern about potential power outages.

Jessica Layton contributed to this report.

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