Snow, ice closes roads, bridges

As a band of snow moved through Long Island, a slew of accidents within a 12-minute span around midnight wreaked havoc on major roadways early Tuesday, officials said.

The National Weather Service warned of "extremely hazardous travel overnight" and urged drivers to "take it slow and be prepared for very icy conditions" and be aware of the potential for black ice on untreated surfaces. 

The state Department of Transportation reported two accidents on the Southern State Parkway and one each on the Meadowbrook Parkway, Sunrise Highway, Sagtikos Parkway and Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway. It was not immediately known whether anyone was injured.

A band of light to moderate snow was moving northeast across much of the Island early Tuesday, and snowfall at a rate of up to 1/2 inch an hour was expected through 2 a.m., with gusty northwest winds causing blowing snow, the weather service said. Temperatures were expected to fall into the teens.

The DOT reported the following accidents on its informny.com website:
* One lane was closed on the westbound Southern at Exit 39 at 12:11 a.m. due to a multiple-vehicle accident.
* Two lanes were closed on the eastbound Southern between exits 33 and 34 at 12:10 a.m. due to an accident involving two vehicles.
* The right lane was closed on the southbound Meadowbrook at Exit M6 at 12:08 a.m. due to an accident involving two vehicles.
* All eastbound lanes were closed on the eastbound Sunrise Highway at Exit 41 at 12:05 a.m. due to an accident involving two vehicles.
* The right lane of the southbound Sagtikos was closed at Exit S3 at 12:04 a.m. due to an accident involving two vehicles. The lane was reopened 10 minutes later.
* The left lane of the northbound Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway at Exit 7 was closed at 11:59 p.m. Monday due to an accident involving two vehicles.

Nassau police early Tuesday reported that the Roslyn Viaduct was closed due to icing.

For more information on traffic on state roads, go to informny.com