(Photo by Zachary Meseck)

UPDATE: The Travel Ban in Chenango County will be replaced at 6 pm by a Travel Advisory. The Travel Advisory will remain in effect until 6 am on Friday (December 18th).

NORWICH - County officials have declared a state of emergency after Chenango County received up to three feet of snow last night, and there is now a travel ban in effect until further notice.

According to Chenango County Emergency Operation Center Manager A Wesley Jones, areas in Chenango County received up to three feet of snow overnight, and anyone who can stay home should.

“For all the times a forecast like this has been a bust, there’s that one time it comes true, and today was that day,” said Jones. “As we said yesterday, the areas in the southern part of the counties were hit the hardest, with areas of higher elevation also receiving the most snow.”

“Between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in particular, it snowed four inches an hour in many places.”

Jones said getting several feet of snow in a few hours is very uncommon for the area, which is part of the reason why the travel ban was enacted for Chenango County although the same has been issued state wide.

“They’re pushing three feet of snow in Greene, to about two feet or more in the northern part of the county,” he said. “We started discussing the travel ban at 4 a.m. and it was issued at 5 a.m.”

“We’re going to reevaluate around midday once the snow stops and we can see where we’re at.”

Jones said the declaration bans non-essential travel on all county and local roads. He said it doesn’t apply to different groups including emergency workers, road crews, essential employees, utility operators, volunteers or employees of nonprofits assisting with disaster relief, or employees of healthcare facilities.

Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox also spoke on the travel ban, and said they will continue to monitor the storm and work to get the streets cleared.

“The County’s Emergency Management Office continues to monitor the storm closely and our public works crews and local police will make every effort to keep roads passable and safe, but we need all residents to stay off the roads,” Wilcox said. “I encourage residents to check in on their neighbors, particularly senior citizens, to assist them with removal of the excessive snowfall.”

The travel ban is in effect until further notice but will be re-evaluated around midday once the snow has stopped. The Chenango County Office Building will also be closed today (December 17th).

For the latest updates and road conditions in the County, call (607) 336-TOGO (8646).