Snow Begins Falling in New York City, Threatening Havoc

New York|How New York Is Preparing for Its First Major Snowstorm in Years

New York City was bracing on Friday for its biggest snowfall in more than three years with a mix of doomsday-style preparation, urban nonchalance and childlike glee.

The city and surrounding areas were expected to get 5 to 9 inches of snow over the weekend, with up to 11 inches possible in some areas. That would qualify as a major storm in a region where hardly a foot of snow has accumulated in some places for three straight winters. Forecasts called for snow to begin Friday afternoon, peak overnight and then taper off early Saturday.

The snow, coming quickly after Christmas, will fall on one of the year’s busiest travel weekends.

The region was deep in preparation late Friday afternoon, although no snow had fallen. City and state agencies were brining streets and highways with liquid salt and lining up plows for deployment. Airlines were canceling flights at New York’s three major airports. New Jersey had declared an emergency, and storm warnings were in effect across southeastern New York, northern New York, western Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania.

In Port Jervis, N.Y., about an hour and a half northwest of Manhattan on the Delaware River, residents flocked to Berthiaume’s Neversink Lumber Co. to snap up shovels, antifreeze and ice-melting salts. Workers hustled to replenish the quickly dwindling stock.

Steven Drumm, 32, a store employee, was raised in upstate New York and knows winter weather well. His plans were simple: “Plow and then hide.” After that, he said, there would be hot chocolate with his children.

Here’s what to expect as the storm rolls in: