18 Photos
Southampton Town Highway Department employee Ryan Jiudice gets his snowplow ready for the storm on Friday morning. DANA SHAW
Deputy Highway Superintendent Robert Welch and Superintendent Alex Gregor go over their plans to deal with the storm. DANA SHAW
Deputy Highway Superintendent Robert Welch and Superintendent Alex Gregor go over their plans to deal with the storm. DANA SHAW
Deputy Highway Superintendent Robert Welch and Superintendent Alex Gregor go over their plans to deal with the storm. DANA SHAW
Southampton Town Superintendent Alex Gregor with snowplows lined up and ready to go. DANA SHAW
Southampton Town Highway Department employee Ryan Jiudice gets his snowplow ready for the storm on Friday morning. DANA SHAW
A truck is loaded with salt on Friday afternoon at the East Hampton Town Highway Department yard before the blizzard. KYRIL BROMLEY
A truck is loaded with salt on Friday afternoon at the East Hampton Town Highway Department yard before the blizzard. KYRIL BROMLEY
A truck is loaded with s
The entire length of the Long Island Expressway is now open in both directions.
The westbound side of the Long Island Expressway is now open. The eastbound lanes are still closed between exits 57 and 73 for snow removal.
The Bridgehampton, Tuckahoe, Wainscott and Amagansett school districts will have a two-hour delayed opening on Monday.
The Southampton School District will be operating on a two-hour delayed opening on Monday. All buses will pick students up two hours after their regularly scheduled time.
Our Lady of the Hamptons will also have a two-hour delay on Monday. The first class will begin at 10:30 a.m.
The Pierson middle and high schools will start at 9:25 a.m. and the Sag Harbor Elementary School will start at 10:35 a.m. There will be no morning program at the Sag Harbor Elementary School and the morning pre-kindergarten is cancelled. Winter bus stops will be used. A list of stops can be found at www.sagharborschools.org.
The East Hampton, Springs, and Montauk school districts will all be operating with a two-hour delay on Monday.
The Eastport South Manor School District will remain closed tomorrow, Monday, February 11 due to ice and snow.
East Hampton Village Hall was used as a temporary shelter for one resident early Saturday morning, according to Village Administrator Larry Cantwell. Mary Grace Mullen of Buell Lane lost power on Friday night and went out to her car, with the engine running, to keep warm at 4 a.m. At 5 a.m., she called Mr. Cantwell at home, and he dug his own truck out of the snow, arriving at her house by 6 a.m.
Mr. Cantwell packed up Ms. Mullen and her two dogs and took them to East Hampton Village Hall, where he made coffee and sat with her until the shelter at East Hampton Town Hall opened at 10 a.m. and East Hampton Village Police could take her there.
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst lifted the state of emergency on the town that went into effect Friday evening, according to a press release issued by Town Police.
Although the order was lifted, town officials are still urging residents to stay off the roads in order to allow the highway department to continue plowing. If residents must drive, they are asked to reduce speed and only stay on roads that have been properly plowed. Plows are expected to continue working through Sunday.
Also, the Suffolk County Fire Rescue Office of Emergency Management is advising motorists that the Long Island Expressway will be closed in both directions from exit 57 to exit 73 on Sunday. The closure will be in effect from 7 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m. for snow removal.
The South Fork was spared the heaviest snowfall from Friday night’s blizzard but was buffeted with some of the strongest winds, including some gusts that approached hurricane strength.
In Bridgehampton, National Weather Service observer Richard Hendrickson recorded 12 inches of snowfall. Totals were believed to be slightly less to the east and increased with each mile to the west. In Patchogue, more than 33 inches of snow fell. In Riverhead, a National Weather Service employee recorded 19 inches.
The highest wind gust recorded in the state came from a weather station on Plum Island, in Gardiners Bay, which recorded a 75 mile per hour gust at about 11 p.m. on Friday night. A 57 mile per hour gust was recorded in Hither Hills in Montauk. A Westhampton Beach weather station recorded a top gust of 47 miles per hour.
Snowfall had ended completely on the South Fork by about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist John Murray, high pressure is expected to move over the area Saturday afternoon, bringing lighter winds and clear skies but also much lower temperatures. Lows on Saturday night could plunge into the teens and single digits.
Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst is urging residents not to drive on Saturday in order to give town highway personnel a chance to clear the roads. According to Ms. Throne-Holst, the town saw between 15 and 25 inches of snow during the night, with the northwestern areas being hardest hit.
“The highway crews are out there doing their job and they have been working around the clock since about 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon,” Ms. Throne-Holst said. “But the snow is very heavy because it is so wet, it is going to take them a good long while to get this done.”
Ms. Throne-Holst also said that as of Saturday morning, the town has a reported 800 power outages, and sporadic cable outages, but overall it could be much worse, adding that the town has not received any calls for major emergencies overnight and will not be opening any shelters today.
“All in all we are faring well, “ she said.
The East End prepares to dig out from Friday night’s blizzard as the snow begins to taper off. The National Weather Service is now saying the storm will be over by noon.
Overnight, the State Police closed the Long Island Expressway and all state parkways to all but emergency vehicles and numerous cars are reported stuck on roads across the island.
As of 7 a.m., LIPA was reporting 2,200 isolated outages in Southampton and East Hampton towns, with 1,483 in East Hampton and 727 in Southampton. LIPA faced about 10,000 outages across the island.
Snowfall totals varied across the island, and averaged about 13 to 14 inches on the South Fork. The hardest hit areas of Long Island were on the North Fork and in Central Suffolk, where accumulations totaled close to two feet.
Residents are advised to stay home and off local roads.
More than 2,000 South Fork households have lost power since the blizzard began on Friday afternoon, according to the Long Island Power Authority.
Some 1,300 households in East Hampton Town and more than 900 in Southampton Town are currently without power. Most of the power loss thus far has been small, localized outages but are widely scattered throught the region.
LIPA crews are assessing outages and repairing them when possible during the storm. Heavy, wet snow and sleet, combined with high winds, has felled many trees and large limbs taking power lines with them. The power authority is warning residents to stay away from downed power lines because they could still be live.
Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst declared a state of emergency for the town this afternoon shortly after 4 p.m.
The weather forecast is predicting snow accumulation between 16 inches and 18 inches and wind gusts up to 60 mph, causing hazardous driving conditions and possible power outages. Conditions are not predicted to clear until approximately noon on Saturday, February 8.
Under the order, residents should be advised that cars must not be parked in the roadways, and only emergency travel is permitted.
The order also provides the town Highway Department with the authority to plow privately owned roads.
Power outages should be reported to LIPA at 1-800-490-0075
Town Hall was closed as of 3 p.m. on Friday. The town’s non-emergency number is 728-3400.
For emergencies, call 911.
Updates will be posted to the Town’s web site www.southamptontownny.gov.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced during a press conference at 4:30 p.m. that he would declare a state of emergency effective this afternoon in order to give government officials more flexibility in responding to damage from the storm.
Eastern Suffolk, he said, would bear the brunt of the storm, with the highest snowfall accumulations and the potential for coastal flooding.
The governor said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority expects to remain operational throughout the storm, though there could be delays while workers clear the tracks once snowfall reaches 12 to 15 inches.
“A little common sense, and we’ll get through this one,” he said.
Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley and the Southampton Fire Department have declared a state of emergency for Southampton Village effective at 6 p.m. The Village is asking that parked vehicles on main roads be removed from the street to help facilitate an effective plowing of the street and to protect public safety.
The Sag Harbor School District has cancelled all after school and evening activities and school facilities will be closed on Saturday, February 9.
The Hampton Bays School District has cancelled all after school and evening activities, and all activities scheduled for Saturday. The Section XI Qualifying Wrestling Tournament is postponed until Sunday, February 10.
The East Quogue School has also cancelled all after school activities, including the Rockin’ for Relay dance and child care program.
The Quogue School will be dismissing at regular time, with no after school activities.
The Tuckahoe School district will dismiss students at 2 p.m. All after school activities have been cancelled, including the Father and Daughter Valentine’s Day Dance.
The Westhampton Free Library will be closing at 2 p.m. today and will remain closed through Saturday.
Southampton School High School will be dismissed at 12:40 p.m. Southampton Intermediate School will be dismissed at approximately 1:20 p.m., and Southampton Elementary School will be dismissed at approximately 2:20 p.m.
All afternoon and evening activities have been cancelled for today and there will be no activities held on Saturday and Sunday.
The Westhampton Beach School District has cancelled all after school and evening activities for Friday.
The Eastport South Manor School District has also cancelled all after school, evening and weekend activities with the exception of SCOPE child care services, which will operate normally.
The Wainscott School District has moved up its dismissal time to 1 p.m. on the advice of its bus company.
Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor said he’s preparing for a wallop that could cost the Town hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to Mr. Gregor, a “simple” storm could cost somewhere in the woods of $36,000. Blizzard Nemo on the other hand, may require crews to work overtime and to pull out all the stops, he said. The department currently has three barns filled with 1,500 tons of salt.
Currently, the 45 highway department employees are out salting and sanding streets across the township and repairing the fleet of trucks and plows to make sure all they’re ready to go for “around the clock” plowing.
Once the snow starts falling, crews will standby until accumulation reaches more than 3 inches. Mr. Gregor said that at that point crews will then plow, salt and sand town, county and state-owned streets again. When snow accumulation reaches 6 to 8 inches, Mr. Gregor said that he will advise Southampton Town Superintendent Anna Throne-Holst to declare a snow emergency.
In the case of a snow emergency, the department will also plow private, non-town owned roads and will make sure “critical routes” to police headquarters and to hospitals are cleared.
Mr. Gregor said that if anyone is in need of emergency assistance to call 911, and for those who need help getting somewhere, the highway department will be available.
“Rest assured, if you need help, we’ll break out of our routine,” he said. The Southampton Town Highway Department can be reached by calling 728-3600.
It is important that motorists avoid non-major roads and streets affected by dangerous snow drifts, such as Lewis Road in East Quogue, Scuttlehole and Brick Kiln roads and Lumber Lane in Bridgehampton, Head of Pond Road and Blank Lane in Water Mill and Hedges Lane in Sagaponack.
Mr. Gregor said that to help alleviate the impact of snow drifts, the department has put up 7,500 feet of snow fencing, but said that people still need to stay inside.
“People should take this seriously,” he said. “The visibility that drivers will have is minimal. The less traffic we have on the road, the quicker the cleanup will be.”
He added that road closures are possible over the weekend and that he expects power outages. Although LIPA and National Grid will not be able to respond to outages tonight, he has scheduled a conference call with the company at 7 a.m. to give a list of what Southampton Town needs help with, such as downed trees, wires and poles.
Mr. Gregor warned that some mailboxes, most likely in neighborhoods and cul-de-sacs, may be hit by snow thrown from snow plows.
“The Town’s right of way turns into the snow shelf,” he said. “We regret [hitting the mailboxes] but we use as much caution as possible.”
The Southampton, Tuckahoe and Bridgehampton school districts have not said they are dismissing students early, however after school activities have been canceled.
Also, Southampton Town Hall will close at 3 p.m.
East Hampton Town and Village have declared states of emergency, effective at noon today. Beginning at 8 p.m., parking on all roads in the village and town will be prohibited. Vehicles left on any public road will be subject to towing.
East Hampton High School will have an early dismissal at 1 p.m. East Hampton Middle School will get out at 1:15 p.m. The John Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton will have a 2 p.m. dismissal.
Wainscott School will be dismissing its students at 2 p.m.
Montauk School will be dismissing at 11:30 a.m.
The National Weather Service is predicting total snowfall accumulation to exceed 17 inches for most of the South Fork, with northern areas including Springs and Northwest Harbor falling into the 18 to 24 inch range.
A blizzard warning is in effect until 1 p.m. Saturday. The service has also issued a coastal flood warning that will go into effect at 6 p.m. tonight until 12 a.m. Saturday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it is working closely with the National Weather Service to monitor the developing storm. The agency asked that citizens avoid all travel both during and after the storm.
UPDATE, 11:16 a.m.
The East Hampton School District has cancelled all after-school activities on Friday. Also, the Cupid Shuffle scheduled for Saturday morning and then postponed to Sunday has been cancelled indefinitely.
Springs and Wainscott schools do not have early dismissal times as of yet. Amagansett School announced an early dismissal of 12:30 p.m. After school activities at Amagansett and Springs are cancelled today.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson warned residents at a Town Board meeting Thursday night to stay off the roads during the storm.
“We are encouraging all our residents and visitors to be off the roads by tomorrow evening because of the conditions, as well as for the emergency highway crews to adequately salt and plow,” he said on Thursday night.
East Hampton Town and Village have announced that they will open a joint emergency operations center at 3 p.m. Friday to monitor the storm and provide information.
Residents with storm-related, non-emergency inquiries can call the center at 324-1213. Emergency calls should continue to be directed to 911.
In the event that power is lost, the town and village plan to open warming centers, but locations have yet to be announced. Residents can call the emergency center number for information about those locations as it becomes available.
Town and village police have repeated warnings to motorists to stay off the roads during the storm because of expected slippery conditions and extremely low visibility.
The village has asked that residents who live in apartments above stores on Main Street and Newtown Lane to park in the muncipal lots along the fence lines, allowing plows access to the rest of the lots.
National Grid, the company that operates LIPA’s electrical distribution network, in a statement released on Thursday afternoon said it was preparing LIPA’s system for the storm, which is predicted to bring heavy rain, snow, localized flooding and damaging winds to Long Island, with gusts potentially reaching 60 mph.
The storm has the potential to cause electrical outages for more than 100,000 customers on Long Island, the statement notes. In anticipation of the outages, National Grid is taking numerous steps to prepare the system for the storm and restoration effort.
The company is securing hundreds of extra line crews, tree trimmers, and support personnel to support the more than 500 lineman and 150 tree trimmers on site and ready to restore power. Also, it is preparing all restoration equipment and inventories and pre-stocking locations across the island with wires, transformers, and additional restoration equipment, as well as notifying all internal personnel of the impending weather so they will expect to work extended shifts.
LIPA is also adding Call Center personnel and arranging schedules to allow extended coverage, reaching out to critical care and special needs customers and facilities, contacting local municipalities to convey plans for coordinated tree and debris removal, coordinating efforts with town, state, New York City, county and local emergency management organizations, and conducting daily calls with elected officials and local municipality leaders to convey information and establish open lines of communication.
Storm information will be available on LIPA’s web site at www.lipower.org/stormcenter.
The National Weather Service has upgraded the blizzard watch to a blizzard warning and a coastal flood watch to a coastal flood warning.
The blizzard warning is in effect from 6 a.m. Friday to 1 p.m. on Saturday for all of Suffolk County.
Snow accumulations are now projected to be between 10 and 15 inches, with localized higher amounts depending on snow bands. Winds would be from the north at 30 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph. Temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s by evening.
The heaviest snow and strongest winds will occur Friday evening into Saturday morning.
Southampton Town Emergency Services Coordinator Sergeant Randy Hintze updated the Town Board on the impending storm at a work session on Thursday morning.
He said officials are expecting winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts to 60 mph. How much precipitation falls will depend on the track the storm takes, and the location of an approaching cold front. If storm tracks north and the cold front arrives ahead if it, there could be significant snowfall comparable with what is forecast for the New England states. If the storm tracks more to the south, and the cold front stays to the north, the East End will be in the rain/ice band.
The town will be updating its website and Facebook page with storm information and will be sending updates on Twitter.
The National Weather Service in Upton on Thursday morning issued a blizzard watch for all of Suffolk County, including eastern Long Island for Friday afternoon into Saturday, including high winds, cold temperatures and up to a foot of snow.
A powerful winter storm is set to affect the region from Thursday night into Saturday morning, according to the service, with the blizzard watch in effect from Friday afternoon into Saturday afternoon. A previously issued winter storm watch has been cancelled.
Suffolk County residents could see winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph, and snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches. Temperatures are expected to remain in the lower 30 degrees, with visibilities of one-quarter mile or less at times.
The strongest winds and heaviest snow will occur Friday evening into Saturday morning, according to the weather service.
The service warns that heavy snow will make for dangerous driving conditions and could bring down tree limbs causing scattered power outages.
A blizzard watch means there is a potential for falling and/or blowing snow with strong winds and extremely poor visibilities. This could lead to whiteout conditions and make travel very dangerous, according to the weather service.
on Feb 7, 2013