State and federal courthouses in New York City and Long Island were closed Thursday due to snowfall and high winds.

The Eastern District of New York announced on its website that the Brooklyn courthouse was slated to close at noon due to the weather and the Central Islip courthouse on Long Island was already closed. Courts in the Southern District of New York, which include the Manhattan, White Plains and Poughkeepsie locations, also were closed.

Court officer Anthony Evans shovels snow from around his car Thursday after the storm closed courts. Photo: David Handschuh/NYLJ.

A spokesman for the state's Unified Court System told the New York Law Journal that courts in Nassau, Westchester and Putnam counties were closing. Courts in New York City, with the exception of arraignments, also were closed, as were all of the courts in the Third Judicial District.

The National Weather Service on Thursday morning upgraded the winter storm to a blizzard warning for Nassau County, and New Haven, Middlesex and New London in Connecticut until 1 a.m. Friday. Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour were expected into the afternoon, with an additional snow accumulation of six to nine inches, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts as high as 45 miles per hour, causing whiteout conditions, were also likely. Suffolk County, on the eastern end of Long Island, also was under a blizzard warning.

Because of the snowfall and wind, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Westchester County, New York City and Long Island, cautioning residents to stay off the roads.

“Unless it is essential for you to be out on the roads and moving around today, you should not be. It should be a question of common sense for New Yorkers. … The situation is going to get worse as the day goes on,” Cuomo said during a weather briefing in Manhattan.

While public transportation was still operating, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota said Metro North's Hudson Line experienced delays from trees coming down on the tracks. Other lines also experienced delays as the afternoon wore on.

Federal courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York were expected to reopen on Friday, with the possible exception of the D'Amato courthouse in Central Islip on Long Island, court spokesmen said. The Office of Court Administration said late Thursday it was not yet sure whether state courts would reopen downstate on Friday.