Weather Event: New Yorkers Urged To Prepare For Heavy Rain and Potential Flooding

March 14, 2025

Governor Kathy Hochul today directed State agencies to prepare for heavy rain and the potential for localized flooding, while cautioning New Yorkers, as parts of the state are forecasted to be impacted by periods of heavy rain this weekend.

Saturday afternoon and evening could bring thunderstorms and gusty winds throughout portions of Central and Western New York. Sunday is expected to bring steady, locally heavy rain statewide with one to one and a half inches of rain forecast and isolated totals of up to two inches possible. There is also potential for gusty winds through areas in Western NY, the Finger Lakes, Central NY and Long Island.

The Black River and other waterways within Jefferson and Lewis Counties could be at risk for flooding Sunday into Monday, as well as Oswego County which currently has snowpack as much as two feet deep in some areas. Flooding is also possible along parts of the Sacandaga, Mohawk and upper Hudson Rivers as well as the West Canada Creek into early next week.

For a complete listing of weather alerts, visit the National Weather Service website. New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts by subscribing to NY Alert — a free service providing critical emergency information to your cell phone or computer.

All Providers

DOH advises that leadership and staff at all facilities and agencies should review their Emergency Response and Evacuation Plans to ensure procedures are up to date, understood by staff, and contact information for all key staff and response partners is current; staff should be ready to activate these plans when needed.

Plans for ensuring adequate staffing should be reviewed, and should include the following:

The use of redundant communications if normal mechanisms are impacted,
Necessary notifications and alerts to staff,
Adjustment of shifts and management of staffing shortages due to transportation impacts,
Securing needed supplies and preparations for staff that remain on site if roadways are not passable,
Process for bringing in and housing additional staff prior to a weather event to ensure sufficient coverage during the storm event and recovery period, and
Emergency power.

During and following a weather event, providers experiencing prolonged power outages or other weather impacts should make requests for assistance through their local county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or other county Office of Emergency Management (OEM) if the EOC is not activated. Those providers located within New York City (NYC) who need services or supplies should contact NYC Emergency Management. Facilities should primarily plan to gather necessary resources prior to the storm from their normal suppliers and rely on resources from their local OEM as a primary source of pre-storm supplies.

Home Care

Home care agencies are encouraged to review patient care needs and consider adjustment of visits to ensure that Level 1 patients are visited prior to the start of a forecasted storm and that all patients are reminded of how/who to call for assistance if they lose their power or have a medical emergency.

Plans for adjusting staff schedules/prioritizing patient visits in the days immediately following the storm should be made, particularly if travel is still impeded, with a focus on reassigning staff based on proximity to patients to limit travel and reduce exposure to hazardous conditions. Agencies should also ensure that staff and their patients have enough supplies to cover a period of at least 24 hours prior to and 72 hours following the start of the storm.

Agencies should be ready to contact staffing services if a large proportion of their regular staff are unable to travel and perform any of their normal visits for an extended period of time following the weather event.

Agencies should also be ready to communicate with their patients during and immediately following the weather event to perform checks on their safety and condition of their health. A plan for managing situations where patients refuse to evacuate a hazardous situation should be developed and included in the Agency’s emergency response plan.

Health Commerce System

Agencies must ensure that all business and emergency contact information for key facility and administrative staff is up to date in the Health Commerce System (HCS) Communications Directory. This contact information is the main data source used by the DOH alerting and notification system for sending emergency and informational notifications to providers and conducting one-on-one communications and discussions where needed. If this data is not up to date, providers may not receive key information.

HERDS Surveys

The Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) surveys may need to be conducted to capture important information regarding a provider’s status during an emergency and providers must be able to respond to any survey that might be activated. The HCS Communications Directory Roles that enable staff to access HERDS include: HERDS Data Manager, HERDS Data Reporter, HERDS Survey Reporter, Administrator, and HPN Coordinator.

NYCEM urges all New Yorkers to prioritize their safety by remaining alert and well-informed, including with real-time updates by subscribing to Notify NYC for the latest weather information.