Blowing snow and icy rain today as LIers dig out from blizzard-like nor'easter

The storm's almost over, but driving isn't a good idea unless you must.

The nor'easter's last throes are forecast to bring blowing snow and icy rain, on top of Monday's wallop of a foot or more of snow on parts of Long Island.

With Tuesday's new snow accumulation forecast to be an inch or less, the Long Island Rail Road resumed service at 4 a.m. on a weekend schedule, after being suspended Monday due to the weather.

The Nassau Inter-County Express and Suffolk County Transit bus systems were also running Tuesday morning, though with some detours and changes due to poor road conditions.

Long Island’s major roads appeared cleared of snow but slick Tuesday morning, with traffic moving briskly but crashes still littering the region.

All lanes appeared plowed on the Long Island Expressway and the Northern and Southern State parkways early Tuesday morning, traffic cameras showed. Traffic appeared to still be lighter than normal, with the lingering precipitation making for wet, slushy drives.

The 511 traffic information system showed six crashes on major local roads Tuesday morning, including one on the westbound side of the Northern State Parkway in Dix Hills potentially blocking one lane, and another on the westbound Long Island Expressway blocking the carpool lane in the Syosset-Jericho area.

Hundreds of schools are closed on the Island, and state vaccination sites, including at SUNY Stony Brook, Jones Beach, Aqueduct Racetrack and the Javits Center, are closed Tuesday, with Feb. 2 appointments to be rescheduled.

The forecast calls for rain and snow showers before 1 p.m., then a chance of snow showers, according to a predawn forecast by the National Weather Service. The daytime temperature will be around 37 degrees, but the wind chill will be between 25 and 30.

At night, the forecast predicts a 50% chance of snow showers, with a low around 26 degrees, and wind chill between 15 and 20. Before the storm finally moves south and east of Long Island later Tuesday, the region could see a total of up to 20 inches of snow, according to the weather service.

Some flooding is possible Tuesday. Nassau and Suffolk police said early Tuesday morning they had not received reports of any issues.

SEE PHOTOSSee winter storm photos from around Long Island

On Long Island, Bellerose recorded the most snow Monday in Nassau County, with 16.6 inches, and in Suffolk County, Smithtown had the most, with 14.6 inches, according to totals released by the weather service.

East Hampton, meanwhile, reported 7.2 inches, according to the weather service.

The storm, which dumped about 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour over most of the region, remained parked over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey, swirling in place, Joe Pollina, a weather service meteorologist, said late Monday.

"This is the most snowfall we’ve seen in one storm in probably a few years," Pollina said.

There were 37 active outages affecting 537 customers as of 8:51 a.m., according to the PSEG Long Island website.

The utility said in a release that as of 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, it had restored service to 99% — more than 20,900 — of its customers affected by the storm.

Strong winds across Long Island had severe effects on the utility's electric system in Suffolk, where most of the outages Monday were centered.

"What we were watching was Nassau got the higher snow totals, but peak wind gusts were expected to be higher in Suffolk," said PSEG spokeswoman Ashley Chauvin.

Some 1,300 power-line workers and tree trimmers worked on restoring power throughout Monday, Chauvin said, though high winds did limit their ability to go up in bucket trucks.

In a release Tuesday morning, the utility said more than 1,400 line workers, tree trimmers, surveyors and other personnel have been deployed for the restoration effort. Approximately 550 additional line, tree and support personnel from out-of-state have also been secured to assist with the effort, the utility said.

Bus detours, snow clearing on LIRR continues

Limited service resumed Tuesday morning on the Nassau Inter-County Express, according to a news release from the bus system. Buses on main routes are running every half hour, with ancillary routes running once an hour. Detours remain in place on North Shore routes because of poor road conditions.

Suffolk County Transit, which shut down ahead of Monday’s storm, resumed service Tuesday, but reported several changes and detours because of unplowed and slippery roads.

Following the LIRR’s restoration of service, the railroad said "snow clearing efforts continue throughout the system."

"LIRR service has resumed after crews worked through the night to clear accumulated snow from our tracks, switches and rails," said the rail road, which added that customers should allow for extra travel time and take precautions when getting on and off trains and on station platforms and staircases.

Patrick Foye, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — the LIRR’s parent organization — said the region’s transportation network "looks pretty well," given the strength of the storm. He noted that a Manhattan water main break on 96th Street is causing some subway disruptions on the 1, 2, and 3 subway lines, and that city buses are running at about 75% strength.

"All things considered given the severity of the storm, mass transit and the MTA came out of this well, and it's a tribute to our forces, who worked hard before, during and after the storm," Foye told WCBS NewsRadio 880.

At the Hicksville train station Tuesday, early-morning commuters boarded trains heading for the city.

"There's not that much snow," said Joe O'Connell of Hicksville. "I've seen much worse."

Air travel remained all but stopped in the region Tuesday morning. All flights departing from Long Island MacArthur and LaGuardia airports were canceled through mid-morning Tuesday, as were most out of JFK Airport, according to the airport websites. Some arrivals were still scheduled, however, albeit most with delays.

At least 113 scheduled flights at JFK Airport Tuesday have been canceled, according to an overnight tweet on its official Twitter page.

Some Long Island schools are expected to return to remote learning Tuesday after schools were closed Monday for in-person instruction. Find a full list of school closings here.

Public school buildings are closed again Tuesday in New York City, though virtual schooling continues, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. A 24-hour state of emergency he declared Monday that prohibited traffic, except for essential workers, on all roadways, ended at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Subway service, partially suspended Monday, resumed at 5 a.m. Tuesday, which is the regular opening time during the coronavirus pandemic.

Port Jefferson ferry service will resume at noon Tuesday, according to its website, after canceling all departures Monday. The Cross Sound Ferry, running between Orient Point and New London, Connecticut, was also set to resume regular service on Tuesday, after being suspended all day Monday and cancelling some Tuesday morning trips.

The inclement weather sidelined one Long Island groundhog from the public Tuesday, while a second critter will continue his annual tradition of predicting winter’s duration.

Malverne Mel delivered his meteorical prognostication for the next six weeks at 8 a.m. Tuesday on Church Street in Malverne. Village Mayor Keith Corbett said the event, which is not open to the public, can be viewed on Malverne TV, the village's public access channel.

"His accuracy, believe it or not, is 78.7%," Corbett said of Mel’s forecasting. "It’s a great event and we believe he is better than Punxsutawney Phil."

For Holtsville Hal, the hamlet's weather-predicting ground hog, the news was not so good. He'll be shielded from the public on his big day. The toothy rodent's forecast of a late winter or early spring won’t be seen by the public, according to an announcement on Brookhaven Town’s website.

The storm dumped about 2 to 3 inches per hour over most of Long Island on Monday, with the band moving to the northwest, taxing snowplow drivers' efforts to clear roads and expressways even with many heeding advice to stay home.

In Port Washington, it was "all hands on deck," according to Brian Waterson, maintenance supervisor at the Town of North Hempstead's Department of Public Works.

"We are worried about fatigue," Waterson said of his crew. "Drivers are going to be behind the wheel for long periods of time."

In Oyster Bay, a man swerving in and out of traffic lanes on Route 106 in a Dodge Ram with a plow attached, was pulled over by Nassau police officers after he narrowly missed hitting another vehicle. The driver, Deyvi Castillo-Chavarria, 30, of Oyster Bay, was charged with driving while intoxicated and other vehicle and traffic offenses, police said.

Between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday, Nassau police received 132 calls reporting automobile crashes, a spokesman said. As of 4 p.m., Suffolk police had received 96 reports of crashes, none resulting in serious injuries, according to a department spokesman.

The storm left most of Long Island's downtowns a virtual ghost town Monday with similar prospects Tuesday.

In Babylon Town, storm cleanup is expected to run into Friday, according to a Facebook post by town Supervisor Rich Schaffer.

In Islip, Supervisor Angie Carpenter said the town, including Fire Island, had been spared any major flooding.

George Gorman, Long Island’s regional director of the state park system, said there was moderate erosion at several local beaches Monday — at Robert Moses, field 5; at much of Gilgo, particularly on the west — as well as flooding at Jones Beach and in the Montauk area.

With Matthew Chayes, Jesse Coburn, John Valenti and Alfonso Castillo