Snowy October weather a shocker

A wintry storm swept through the region Saturday, stunning parts of Long Island with a pre-Halloween snowfall and leaving a heavy blanket of white on areas of the Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The trace of snow that fell in Upton and at Long Island MacArthur Airport as of 10 p.m. turned out to be an October record. The National Weather Service said no snow has ever fallen in October at Islip, where records have been kept since 1984. However, trace amounts of snow have been recorded in October at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which has kept records since 1949.

The storm knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands as it swept across the mid-Atlantic states, weighing down or toppling trees still clinging to their fall foliage.

New Jersey and Connecticut declared states of emergency, with 665,000 without power in New Jersey. Connecticut authorities blamed at least one traffic death on the storm, The Associated Press reported. More than 261,000 had no power in New York, AP said. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared states of emergency in 13 upstate counties.

"When you talk about snow hitting Long Island in October, it certainly catches people off guard," said Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Craft. "I'm hoping that snow this early isn't the start of a trend for the winter."

A foot of snow fell in Harriman and 10 inches in Armonk, while West Milford, N.J., clocked in at 15.5 inches and Ridgefield, Conn., had 10 inches. Central Park set a record for the month with 1.3 inches. City parks were closed because of the dangers of trees falling from snow and strong winds.

Powerful winds knocked out power to as many as 5,800 residents in Nassau and Suffolk counties, delayed flights and sent emergency crews scrambling to keep roads clear.

SEE PHOTOSSnowstorms that buried LI over the past 100-plus years

The storm resembled "a good old-fashioned nor'easter," said Mike Layer, a weather service meteorologist in Upton.

Four inches fell in Mineola. In Suffolk, 0.3 inches fell in Oakdale, with a trace in Islip and Mount Sinai, the weather service said. Sustained winds were as high as 26 mph at Islip. The weather service warned winds would strengthen overnight to 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of up to 65 mph.

During a football game between Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School and Valley Stream Central High, 15 players became hypothermic in the locker room at halftime, authorities said. "When they came in, they started shivering -- and that's pretty much the first sign that you're hypothermic," said Craig Robinson of the Plainview Fire Department.

Five boys were treated at the scene in the 2 p.m. incident; 10 at a hospital. It wasn't clear which teens were from which school. The game was canceled. Players in Merrick were also treated for hypothermia. More details weren't available.

Long Island Rail Road westbound service between Jamaica and Penn Station was temporarily suspended last night after a tree fell on the tracks west of Forest Hills.

Forecasters said 2 to 3 inches would accumulate overnight on most of the Island. Skies will likely clear and temperatures hit the mid-40s by afternoon.

Officials in Oyster Bay and Hempstead said they were prepared for today's cleanup.

"This is really the first call of the winter season," Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto said. Extra workers were on call in case the town need to put plows on the streets.

Hempstead put 200 employees on call to salt roads if needed and secured 40,000 tons of salt and 40 trucks, officials said.

"It's too soon," said Jim McKay, 51, of Northport. "You have to crank up the heat, which is going to be expensive. I think about relocating more and more the older I get."

With Matthew Chayes

and Kery Murakami