New York Is Extremely Icy and Running Out of Salt

What's This?

New York City and parts of Long Island are dealing with a salt shortage caused by high number of storms this season. Above, a photo taken in New York on Feb. 5, 2014.

Image: Seth Wenig/Associated Press

By Melissa Goldin2014-02-05 20:26:13 UTC

It seems like the entire month of January has been one long winter storm in New York. Wednesday's snowfall came with an added challenge, however: a shortage of salt for de-icing the roads and sidewalks.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who declared a state of emergency on Wednesday due to dangerous conditions resulting from the severe weather, confirmed in a statement that the salt shortage has affected not only New York City, but also other areas of the metropolitan area, including parts of Long Island.

The storm did not come as a surprise, Cuomo said. But the salt shortage complicated things.

"It's been a difficult winter," a spokesperson from the New York State Department of Transportation told Mashable. "We've had an above-average number of storms which has put a demand on the supply."

Long Island typically uses up to 12,000 tons of salt per storm and had already used 46,000 tons before Wednesday's storm, according to another spokesperson from the New York State Department of Transportation. Currently, 259,000 tons are on reserve statewide.

The state of emergency means that certain restrictions — like ones that might have prevented more salt from coming into New York — have been eased. In the meantime, there is enough salt in other areas of the state to alleviate the deficit. Approximately 3,500 tons, equivalent to 130 truckloads, are to be spread out among affected areas.

New York City's Department of Sanitation told the New York Times that it had a store of 250,000 tons of road salt at the beginning of the season. Last year, the department used a total of 346,112 tons.

"We have enough of a supply now to be able to help localities that have a truly dire situation," Cuomo said on a conference call with the media on Wednesday.

Situations like this aren't just affecting New York, though. Other states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois, have been dealing with salt shortages this season as well.

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