National Weather Service warning:
‘a life-threatening, potentially historic winter storm’ to impact East End

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The National Weather Service is warning of  “a life-threatening, potentially historic winter storm” to impact Long Island tonight into Tuesday.

In anticipation of the storm intensifying so much late this afternoon that evening travel will be dangerous, Gov. Andrew Cuomo last night urged commuters to stay home today if possible or leave work early.

The severity and timing of the storm may force the closure of major roadways, including the L.I. Expressway, this evening, and the cancellation of public transportation systems, the governor warned last night.

Residents should stay off the roads during the storm and after it ends until plow trucks can open all roadways to ensure safe travel.

“If you go out during the storm, chances are good that you’ll get stuck and stranded,” Riverhead Highway Superintendent George Woodson said this morning. “It doesn’t matter that you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle.”

Woodson said during the last severe blizzard, highway trucks had to pull out 200 stuck vehicles, many of them four-wheel-drive. Each rescue operation cost the highway crews 20 to 30 minutes, the highway chief said. “Do the math. It really takes up time we can’t afford to lose.” But stuck vehicles usually have to be moved out of the way so plow trucks can clear the roadway, so highway crews have little choice.

“Please, everybody, use your heads,” Woodson said. “There’s been plenty of warning and time to prepare. There’s absolutely no reason for anyone to be out during a storm of this magnitude. Stay safe and stay home.”

Light snow is expected to develop this morning to the south and west of the local area and slowly expand northward throughout the day, according to the weather service, which says to expect one to three inches with this first wave of snow.

A coastal low will rapidly intensify as it bears down on Long Island and is expected to stall southeast of Montauk late tonight into Tuesday. It will bring heavy snow and strong winds to the East End, according to the weather service and create blizzard conditions across the entire region.

Snowfall rates of two to four inches per hour are expected late tonight into Tuesday morning.

The timing of the storm may work to the advantage of highway crews, since the heaviest snows are forecast to occur overnight, when people will be inside anyway.

“We’ll be out plowing later until whiteout conditions when the guys can’t see and it’s dangerous for them to be out, especially if they don’t get any rest,” Woodson said this morning. “Then we’ll bring the guys in for four or five hours to get some sleep, and then they’ll go back out,” he said.

“We hav no secondary crew for a second shift. We’re only 30 guys and every one of them will be out there plowing except one mechanic, who will stay in the shop to make needed repairs.”

Woodson also implored residents to move their parked cars off the streets so that plowing can be done more efficiently and more quickly.

“Move your cars onto your lawns if necessary, but please get them off the road,” he said.

The National Weather Service has dialed back the snowfall total accumulations forecast for our area and is now calling for totals of 18 to 24 inches, with locally higher amounts in areas of snow banding.

A blizzard warning remains in effect through midnight Tuesday. There is potential for sustained winds up to 35 mph on Long Island and gusts of 45 to 50 mph and up to 60 mph across the East End.

The National Weather Service urges residents to prepare for the storm — and the likelihood of loss of heat, power and phone service and shortage of supplies as a result of its impacts — by making sure to have on hand flashlights and extra batteries, extra food and water, prescription medications, first-aid supplies, adequate heating fuel and an emergency heat source and a fire extinguisher.

“Please be patient,” the Riverhead highway superintendent said. “We will get to you as fast as we can. This is a major incident and we’ll do the best we can. We’ll give it 100 percent.” He asked that residents refrain from calling the highway department to ask when their streets will be plowed. The department has an operations plan it follows for every storm, he said. Read more about that here.

“If you have an emergency, call the police. Dial 911,” Woodson said. The Riverhead Police Department dispatches emergency medical services, the fire department.

Local fire departments and RVAC will have crews standing by at their headquarters ready to respond to calls even during the height of the storm, as necessary. Highway department plow trucks go out with them to clear the snow and allow them safe passage.

Photo: Satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce