Early taste of winter hits LI with snow, wind, cold temps

Say it ain’t snow!

Long Island got an unusually early shot of winter Monday as the white flakes dusted some neighborhoods in what was the earliest seasonal sighting of snow in 23 years at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip — the official climate station of the National Weather Service.

But that wasn’t all. High winds conspired with the cold, wet precipitation to leave more than 348 homes and businesses without power.

Traces of snowfall too slight to measure were seen at the airport and elsewhere, the weather service said. But in Manorville, a half-inch snowfall was recorded.

Jim Connolly, a meteorologist with the weather service, said a “trace” is “technically not measurable” but was still considered “the first snowflakes of the season.” He said even that small an amount this early at Islip has not been noted since Nov. 6, 1987. A trace amount of snowfall was recorded Oct. 29, 2000, by a trained weather observer in Bridgehampton, Connolly said.

Measurable snow, as Long Island saw Monday, is considered anything above 0.1 inch, meteorologists said.

Adding to the wintry weather were unusually high winds.
Westhampton had gusts up to 44 mph at 5:28 a.m., and sustained levels at 31 mph, while Montauk had gusts of 40 mph at 5:53 a.m., and sustained levels of 28 mph during the day, said Lauren Nash of the weather service.

Most of the 348 customers who lost power were in Suffolk County — notably Centereach, Commack and Shoreham. Those customers had their power restored by the early afternoon, the Long Island Power Authority said.

So does this early snowfall mean a harsh winter ahead?

The Farmers’ Almanac for 2011’s long-range forecast is for milder weather elsewhere in the country this winter, but colder than normal conditions for the northeastern United States. The 194-year-old Maine-based publication claims 80 to 85 percent accuracy.

Nash said that at the weather service, “We don’t keep any records on whether they’re accurate or not, and don’t use it in any of our forecasts.” Right now, there’s still a 50-50 chance of colder or warmer weather this winter, she said.

An early snowfall doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of snowfall in the winter, Nash said.

Looking back to the last time there was such an early sign of snow, she said: “The ’87 winter season — 19.5 inches of snow, and that is actually on the lower end of the years we recorded back to 1984. The average since 1984 per winter season is 25.3 inches.”