They call it 'blizzardcane'
In a weather update issued at 5:27 a.m., the National Weather Service said a band of very heavy snow will "likely persist another 2 to 3 hours across the area with snowfall rates of 2 to possible 3 inches per hour."
“This combined with northerly wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph will produce blizzard conditions, making travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening.”
Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said department of public works veterans are calling it a “blizzardcane.”
“They've never seen anything like this, and a lot of them have been plowing for as much as 30 years,” Schaffer told Newsday TV early this morning. “This is probably gonna go down as one of the top five storms that our region has seen, just, to put it in historical context, and I can tell you that we're expecting probably upwards of 2 feet.”
Schaffer said people should stay off the roads all day unless they are an essential worker, so crews can start clearing the roads.
“This cleanup is going to take us through to the weekend,” he said. “We're looking forward to those 40 [-degree temperatures] and snow melt, as we get into Saturday and Sunday, but people need to be patient.”
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.
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