Snow delays East End school openings

A Riverhead county road was partly closed most of Wednesday night into Thursday morning because of ice and snowdrifts and East End schools delayed opening after a winter storm Wednesday rocked the area with as much as 16 inches of snow.

County Road 43, Northville Turnpike, was closed between Doctors Path and County Road 105 into Thursday morning because of snowdrifts more than a foot high, said Gilbert Anderson, commissioner of public works for Suffolk County.

"When you get 18 inches of snow drifting against a road from farm fields, it can get very deep," Anderson said.

Anderson said Northville Turnpike was the only county road in the East End that was closed. He expected it would reopen by 11 a.m.

Several school districts, including Amagansett, East Hampton, Montauk, Bridgehampton, East Quogue, Sagaponack, Harbor Country Day and Wainscott, announced two-hour delayed openings.

Also, at least three morning trains originating from Montauk were significantly late, the Long Island Rail Road said in e-mail alerts to commuters.

The railroad said early Thursday it had planned a normal peak rush-hour morning schedule Thursday and that it would restore all East End service.

Train service between Speonk and Montauk was restored Wednesday night with the departure of the 8:53 p.m. train from Jamaica to Montauk.

Restoration of East End train service between Greenport and Ronkonkoma was expected to be complete in time for Thursday morning's rush hour.

For much of Wednesday, buses had replaced trains on the Montauk branch because of snow and ice on the tracks.