It's snow joke! Long Island gets 1st winter storm of 2023

Compared to much of the country — including, of all places, areas close to Los Angeles — Long Islanders made it through their first measurable snow of the winter Tuesday without any measurable hiccups.

The National Weather Service said up to 5.1 inches of snow fell in Nassau, with another 5 inches in Suffolk. A cloud-heavy week will give way Wednesday to mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-40s, the weather service said.

The snowfall totals stand in stark contrast to a year ago. Although February 2022 closed out with close to the same amount of snow recorded Tuesday on Long Island, a late-January blizzard had dumped nearly 32 inches on the region. By the time March 2022 arrived, Long Island had recorded 35.4 inches of snow.

Nassau and Suffolk officials reported no major damage from Tuesday's storm and said road sanding in preparation and plenty of snowplows helped keep problems to a minimum.

Without major snow-related nightmares to contend with, Long Island motorists seemed to take the break from a snowless winter in stride.

"I was excited," said Haimchan Sing as he grabbed some milk at a Cumberland Farms in New Hyde Park. "It was nice in the morning. … We've been through a nice winter and now we got a little bit of snow but the conditions are good."

Joyce Chaitan of Queens was heading to her job in Roslyn and stopped to gas up. She said her morning commute was easy.

"They did a good job clearing the roads," Chaitan said.

At a 7-Eleven in Mineola, Shanel Cummings of Islandia said: "The snowplows were out all night in our neighborhood. The roads were clear. … There was no traffic. It wasn't too bad."

Suffolk police said there had been relatively few calls pertaining to storm-related damage.

“The number of crashes has not been excessive," a spokesperson said. "Really no more or less than any given night."

As for the morning rush, when the weather had been forecast to be at its worst, police said it was "pretty much the same as a usual morning commute."

There will be plenty of sun on Long Island Wednesday with a high of 45 degrees, but officials warned motorists venturing out early or at night to drive with caution because of the potential wet roads or black ice.

Wednesday night's low will dip to about 40 degrees with a 30% chance of rain, which will increase to 40% on Thursday with a high climbing into the mid-50s before dropping down to 33 overnight.

On Friday, rain and snow are likely, changing over to all rain overnight, according to the weather service.