LI storm knocks out power, cancels Santa show

Even Santa didn't dare venture out in yesterday's gusty rainstorm.

More than 2 inches of rain fell Sunday at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, where winds reached 46 mph at 1:21 p.m.

It was part of a mass of warm air crawling up the Eastern Seaboard, bringing varying amounts of rain to Long Island: 1.4 inches in Muttontown, 1.95 in Montauk, 1.2 in Syosset and .87 in Westhampton Beach. The highest recorded wind gust was 51 mph, at 2:49 p.m. in Shinnecock Hills.

The front also brought temperatures up to 55 on Long Island, after several days of unusually chilly weather.

The rainstorm delayed the Syosset Fire Department's tradition of driving Santa Claus through the streets of Syosset and Woodbury, a department custom for more than 40 years, said Chief John Capobianco. It's rescheduled for Dec. 19.

"We wanted to make sure we were undertaking this joyous day of holiday cheer under weather conditions that are both safe for our members and also allow the public to come out and meet Santa and their local volunteer firefighters," Capobianco said.

About 4,800 homes scattered across Nassau and Suffolk lost power, mostly because of trees falling on power lines, said Scott Garver, a Long Island Power Authority spokesman. The problems were quickly fixed, Garver said, and by the afternoon, about 700 were without power. "We really haven't had very many big jobs," he said. "It's been mostly single [homes]."

Nassau and Suffolk police reported dozens of accidents but none with major injuries.

The storm should ease this morning, the National Weather Service said. Suffolk has a flood watch until 6 a.m., federal meteorologist Matt Scalora said. Temperatures Monday should be in the 40s, then fall to below 30 Tuesday and Wednesday.