Snowstorm expected to disrupt mass transit, airports on Long Island

The massive snowstorm forecast to hit Long Island will affect public transportation this weekend and snarl flights at area airports.

The Long Island Rail Road was expected to shut down overnight, ahead of the worst of the expected storm, and resume service on Sunday. It could remain out of service until the Monday morning rush hour, the head of the MTA said Friday.

Speaking at a Melville news conference alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, Metropolitan Transporation Authority chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said he expected the LIRR to suspend all service during the early morning hours Saturday, to avoid operating during the brunt of the storm, which he said could drop 2 inches of snow per hour on the tracks.

Later, speaking on WCBS radio, Lieber said he expected the LIRR to be "back in action some time on Sunday and be ready for the Monday morning commute."

The LIRR has a policy of suspending service when 10 inches or more accumulates on the tracks — the threshold at which trains could lose connectivity with the electrified third rail.

"The Long Island Rail Road is about to take what is sure to be the biggest hit this weekend," Lieber said. "Our goal is to get everybody safely through the weekend and restore morning rush hour service on Monday."

Lieber said the MTA is calling hundreds of workers to respond to the storm, including some who are already applying salt and sand to LIRR station platforms, walkways and parking lots. New York City subways are expected to run normally.

Suffolk County Transit announced it would suspend all bus service on Saturday. Nassau's NICE Bus advised customers to expect "heavy delays and possible detours, especially along the North Shore."

Some airlines at Long Island MacArthur Airport began canceling flights on Friday in anticipation of the storm. Frontier and Southwest canceled some inbound flights on Friday and canceled all Saturday flights, according to Caroline Smith, a spokeswoman for Islip Town, which operates the airport.

Storm preparations were underway Friday morning at LaGuardia, with outbound planes being sprayed with deicing fluid, according to the FAA.

On Friday, 209 flights were canceled at Kennedy Airport, and 232 flights were canceled at LaGuardia Airport. On Saturday, 731 flights have been canceled at Kennedy and 535 flights were canceled at LaGuardia.

The state was planning to issue an advisory speed limit of 45 mph on the Long Island Expressway and on parkways starting Friday night and restrict trucks to the right lane only on the LIE.

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, who said she will remain on Long Island during the storm, said the agency will be monitoring road conditions all night and on Saturday to determine whether any roads are too unsafe to remain open.

Saturday ferries from Orient Point to New London, Connecticut, were canceled, according to the Long Island Ferry website. The ferry reservation department was to close at 9 p.m. Friday and reopen at 5:15 a.m. Sunday.

Port Jefferson-Bridgeport, Connecticut, ferries also were canceled Saturday, resuming 7:30 p.m. Sunday, according to that service’s website.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said the Smith Point Bridge to Fire Island will close.

With Nicholas Spangler

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com,lorena.mongelli@newsday.com@alfonsoreports,

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.