Dee DeQuattro
ddequattro@abc6.com
Governor Lincoln Chafee has declared a State of Emergency for Rhode Island as the blizzard begins to role in. The blizzard could drop up to 30 inches of snow on Rhode Island and South Eastern Mass.,
Chafee, along with EMA officials, the Director of Transportation Michael Lewis, and Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Stephen O'Donnell urged Rhode Islanders to stay off the roads. They advised any driver who is on the road and gets stuck to get to a safe place behind a guardrail or out of the way of the roadway but warned that people should stand clear of the road since visibility will be very limited for drivers.
Currently there are more than 100 state plows on the roads and an additional 200 private vendor plows. More plows may be called if necessary.
"Everyone has had advanced warning now is the time to hunker down," said Chafee.
Michael Lewis said that the storm clean-up should be complete by the end of Saturday and people can expect to return to business as usual by Sunday.
