Winter 'Bomb Cyclone' Dumps Over A Foot Of Snow On The East End

A “bomb cyclone” left its mark on Long Island last week, dropping over a foot of snow on parts of the East End and breathing sub-zero wind chills into the area for days following the storm on Thursday, January 4.The storm was characterized by experts as a “bomb cyclone,” which, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website, forms “when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours.”Eastport saw 14.5 inches of snow, but Joe Pollina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, said the snow levels were lower to the east and varied throughout the region. “We were forecasting over a foot for portions of the East End,” he said on Friday. “We were pretty much on target.”Along with the snow, strong winds were also felt on the East End, with top speeds reported in areas like Shinnecock Bay, which had a gust of 54 mph, Mecox Bay, with a gust of 51 mph, and Montauk, with a gust of 46 mph.PSEG Long Island officials reported that more than 21,694 customers on Long Island lost power in Thursday’s storm, as heavy winds, snow and ice downed lines.“In the Eastern Suffolk area, from the Town of Brookhaven eastward to the Atlantic Ocean, 7,026 customers experienced outages as a result of the storm,” Jeremy Walsh, PSEG communications senior generalist, said in an email on Friday afternoon. “All of them have been restored.”Snow began falling on the East End in the early morning hours on Thursday and continued throughout the day, tapering off by 10 p.m. that night.Blizzard conditions, with heavy snow and strong winds, were followed by a plunge in temperatures and sub-zero wind chills. On Thursday night, temperatures dropped to 10 degrees, and the wind chills were between -5 and -1 degrees. Temperatures over the weekend were as low as single digits.The storm forced local government officials to declare states of emergency for their specific villages or towns, and had crews clearing highways and staying on call for any emergency situations.Southampton Town Deputy Supervisor Frank Zappone declared a state of emergency to allow police and emergency crews the ability to work on clearing the roads during the storm, placing a focus on the major roads first.Mr. Zappone said at times the visibility was 50 feet or less. There were about a dozen motor vehicle accidents reported of people who attempted to drive in the snow, according to the deputy supervisor. The crashes were largely single-vehicle accidents, due to spinning out on the ice or the poor visibility.Public Safety Director Steven Troyd described the visibility as a “whiteout,” noting that the winds were strong and caused people who were driving to encounter problems.Tuckahoe Road was closed on Thursday because of high snowdrifts, Mr. Zappone noted.East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said that all things considered, everything went well during the storm. While the storm was occurring, Mr. Zappone said he did not receive reports of any major accidents after he, too, declared a state of emergency for the town.Along with the towns, the villages of Westhampton Beach, East Hampton and Southampton all declared a state of emergency.Governor Andrew Cuomo also declared a state of emergency across all of Long Island and other parts of the state, also issuing a travel advisory for the majority of the day.The day after the storm, many schools and government offices remained closed as the East End worked to recover from the storm.