Winter warnings lifted for Long Island
Andrea Lifson of Dawn Road in Rocky Point clears away the snow from her car in front of her house. During the Blizzard of February 8th, her road was not plowed for days. Cleaning up after the two day nor'easter in the Town of Brookhaven. (Mar. 8, 2013) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Ready for some clear skies and sunshine?
That's what's up for the weekend, following a March nor'easter that brought three days of on-again-off-again precipitation that started Wednesday night with mostly rain, became heavier snow overnight Thursday, and a messy, snowy commute Friday morning.
A snowfall record for the day was broken Friday in Islip, which saw 3.7 inches of snow from midnight to about 4 p.m. Friday, up from the previous record of 3.4 inches set in 2005, according to the National Weather Service. In Syosset, 8 inches of snow was recorded overnight Thursday. As of late Friday afternoon, Woodmere had seen 7.2 inches and Mineola 7.1. By noon, 7.1 inches was recorded in Orient, and 5.8 inches in Shoreham by early afternoon.
The state Department of Transportation website reported a two-vehicle accident about 6 p.m. Friday on the Southern State Parkway. The website had posted three traffic alerts, all on the westbound Long Island Expressway, Friday morning.
By Friday afternoon, state roads were mostly wet, with some patches of ice and snow, said Beau Duffy, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. Crews were to remain out on the roads overnight into this morning, he said, to deal with any spots that may freeze over as temperatures cool.
Crews had been out since Thursday night plowing and salting roads, he said. Among the state resources working the storm were 520 workers and 281 pieces of equipment.
The winter storm caused dozens of schools across Long Island to either delay opening or close Friday.
Snow seemed to have little effect on power lines. About 70 to 150 outages were reported between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., with around 90 as of early Friday evening.
George Gorman Jr., deputy regional director of state parks, said that as of midday Friday there had been only minor erosion so far at the beaches at the Montauk-area parks, Robert Moses and Orient Beach state parks.
Indeed, the weather service issued a coastal flood advisory for 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday for ocean-facing coastlines and South Shore bays, with an advisory in effect from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. for western Long Island Sound and Peconic and Gardiners bays.
But, with an eye to the days ahead, Long Islanders can look forward to sunshine and, at least through Tuesday, normal to above-normal temperatures, said Pete Wichrowski, also a weather service meteorologist in Upton.
With Bill Bleyer
and Sarah Crichton
