Long Island storm leaving treacherous trail of hazardous roads for Monday

A massive winter storm blanketed parts of Long Island in more than a foot of snow Sunday, with freezing rain and overall hazardous conditions by the early evening prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau and Suffolk leaders to urge residents to stay off the roads Monday until crews can make them safe for travel.

The snow and sleet was forecast to taper off by noon Monday. However, as the skies clear, the temperatures will remain below freezing, and will stay stubbornly so for the rest of the week. The wind chill Monday will make it feel closer to between 15 and 20 degrees despite the return of sunshine. In Nassau, Glen Cove and North Merrick saw the most snow, at just over 12 inches reported by Sunday evening. In Suffolk, Setauket-East Setauket reported 13.5 inches.

During the week, high temperatures will be from the mid-20s to the low 30s, with lows dropping to as low as minus 5 degrees in some places on the Island, National Weather Service meteorologist John Cristantello said.

Taking storm in stride

Most Long Islanders, it seemed, had stayed home and out of the cold. But not Dilan DeJesus, the manager of Delicias Café, a Latin American deli at Hempstead Avenue and Fairway Drive in West Hempstead. 

DeJesus said the two-year-old family business is usually open from about 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"We’re very dedicated with our job," he said. "We’re going to serve people no matter the weather. ... We’re trying to stay open as best as we can, because you never know. We have faith."

Police in Nassau and Suffolk reported no major weather-related crashes or road closures. Traffic on Long Island roadways appeared to moving relatively trouble free Sunday evening, according to 511NY.org. 

In Nesconset, rescuers pulled a father and his 12-year-old son from the ice on Gibbs Pond Sunday afternoon after they had fallen in.

At the Nassau County Emergency Operations Center in Bethpage, state, county and local officials collaborated on the storm response Sunday. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that the treacherous conditions will persist into the week.

"This isn't going to be a typical blizzard or snow event where the roads are OK in 24 hours and they're dry because of the frigid temperatures," Blakeman told NewsdayTV’s Andrew Ehinger. "This is going to be an event that's going to go on for three or four days. We want to manage expectations. Plan ahead. Take your time. Plan to be a little late for wherever you're going, because it's really necessary for you to go really slow."

Stay off the roads

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, on News12 Long Island, also urged residents to stay off the roads until crews can clear them of snow and ice.

"It's going to take the county, the towns and the villages at least" through midday Monday to make roads safe for driving, Romaine said.

NWS' Cristantello said that despite the accumulation, the bitter cold meant the absence of heavy, wet snow that can down trees and power lines. PSEG Long Island's outage map was showing less than two dozens outage Islandwide on Sunday evening.

When the snow turns to sleet and freezing rain, Cristantello said, there will likely be an accumulation of ice, making driving that much more dangerous.

"The sleet is probably knocking off some of the snow," he said.

Forecasters had been predicting snow from the southwestern United States to New England since last week. In preparation, snow plows and salt spreaders were deployed in Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as New York City by early Sunday and would keep operating well into the evening, officials said.

With the icy conditions in mind, most Long Island schools will be closed on Monday, with some holding remote classes.

New York City, however, will go virtual, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference.

"I know that this may disappoint some students," Mamdani said. "So if you do see me, feel free to throw a snowball at me."

Schedule changes

Federal courts in Central Islip and Manhattan will be closed on Monday. State courts will also shut down except for arraignments, which will begin at 11 a.m.

MTA chairman Janno Lieber said the Long Island Rail Road will be operating on a Sunday schedule on Monday.

"We're going to keep [the LIRR] going as best we can," Hochul said in an interview with News12 Long Island. "We know what a lifeline this is for Long Islanders to get into the city."

In Nesconset on Sunday, Smithtown Park Ranger Leyland Crocilla said he and "a nearby good Samaritan," pulled the 12-year-old boy from Gibbs Pond after he and his father fell through the ice. The Nesconset Fire Department arrived shortly thereafter and removed the boy's father; both were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for further evaluation.

Sgt. Brendan Dennihy told Newsday the patients were going to be OK.

"They're lucky that a woman behind them actually heard them yelling for help," Dennihy said.

His advice: "Just stay off the ice. Even if it seems to be iced over, the ice really isn't safe to be on — especially, on a pond like that. You can't judge it."

Suffolk County buses and the Nassau County NICE system shut down on Sunday because of the storm, but were expected to resume service by 10 a.m. on Monday.

The weather led to 1,505 canceled flights at area airports by 6 p.m. Sunday.

At Kennedy Airport, Dallas residents Brice Tsao and Kaylee Arakaki said they had flown to New York City with a group of friends for a fun weekend.

"We were ... expecting the worst but hoping for the best," Araki said, however she said it was closer to "the worst."

Tsao pointed to one bright spot: "Dallas also has a snowstorm, so no work on Monday."

Halesite eateries remained open and ready to welcome hungry customers Sunday, despite the snow outside.

Anthony Rombaldi, of Huntington, has been the manager of Junior's Pizza on New York Avenue in Halesite since 1997. The pizzeria was set to open at 11 a.m., and he was expecting snowplow operators and "anyone who wants to get out of the house" to stop by.

"We'll have the football games on …," Rombaldi said. "We try to do the right thing for the community, whoever wants to come out of the house."