Long Island ducks the punch of 'Snowmageddon'

Just two miles. That short distance is what helped Long Island escape the punch of a powerful winter storm that dumped 2 feet of snow or more along East Coast cities to the south Saturday.

The heavy band of snow stopped just off the South Shore. As of Saturday afternoon, the Island had snowfall totals ranging from just a dusting to a mere 0.8 inch, which fell in Valley Stream, said Richard Castro of the National Weather Service in Upton.

Areas in southern New York City that were a touch closer to the snow band got higher amounts. Kennedy Airport got 1.3 inches, while Staten Island received the highest in the city: 6.4 inches.

Long Island's good fortune - or misfortune, depending on your perspective - was to be sandwiched between two storm systems, the current one and the lingering one from Wednesday that left a few inches of snow here, Castro said.

The Wednesday storm turned into a strong ocean disturbance that stalled out to the north of this area, and the dry northwestern air surrounding the system kept the current snow band off to the south. In addition, that dry air prevented the heavy snow from reaching the Island, because the snow evaporated before it reached the ground, a process known as virga, Castro said.

"Any snow that pushed against the dry air . . . actually evaporated before it hit the ground," he said.

Had the latest storm tracked just 20 to 30 miles farther north, Long Island could have been socked with about 2 feet of snow, like Philadelphia.

"We definitely just missed," Castro said.

Some of the Girl Scouts selling cookies in the Baldwin Square shopping center were disappointed, though.

"I was hoping for more," said Brandy Thomas, 9, of Baldwin.

Said fellow trooper Taylor Young-Wells, also 9 and also of Baldwin, "It's cold and there's not a lot of snow. I wanted a lot more snow."

Temperatures were forecast to fall into the teens last night, with wind chills in the single digits. Some areas could see flurries, but as far as accumulations are concerned, the Island "is pretty much done," Castro said.

The Long Island Power Authority reported as many as 135 power outages, but by late Saturday afternoon, that number was down to 44, said spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter.

The Long Island Rail Road said that service Saturday was normal.

"We have no delays," spokesman Mike Lewi said Saturday afternoon.

With Keith Herbert

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