'We are ready,' say LI and state officials as region braces for 'significant' winter storm

Long Island officials insist they're ready for the "significant" storm — scheduled to wallop the region beginning Sunday morning — that could drop up to a foot of snow, create near-whiteout conditions on roadways and potentially leave some residents without power or heat.

Both county executives issued states of emergency on Saturday afternoon.

And while county leaders say they have the crews and equipment needed to battle the elements and clear the streets, the frigid cold could throw a monkey wrench into the equation as rock salt, typically used to remove ice from roadways following a storm, becomes less effective in temperatures under 20 degrees.

Road closures possible in Nassau

"[The salt] will be effective, hopefully, when the sun comes out, even though it's still below freezing, perhaps on Monday afternoon, or Tuesday," Bill Nimmo, Nassau County's deputy commissioner of public works, said during a news conference in Mineola on Friday.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who urged residents to stay home and off the roads, if possible, on Sunday, said if conditions on certain arteries are not safe, he will consider closing those roads to the public.

"I'm going to take it on an hourly basis on Sunday and Monday, and obviously, if we think there's a dangerous situation, then I'll sign an executive order closing that roadway," said Blakeman, adding that the county will have 74 county vehicles plowing and brining roads beginning Sunday. "We don't anticipate that at this time, but it's certainly an option."

Nassau, he said, plans to close all county facilities at noon on Sunday while a warming center in Westbury will be staffed and available, with ready-to-eat meals, cots and blankets.

The forecast changed a bit Saturday, as the transition to sleet late in the day Sunday could increase the level of ice and potentially reduce snow accumulation. National Weather Service forecasters were still calling for 8 to 12 inches of accumulation, with the lower amounts coming on the South Shore. Snow is expected to begin around sunrise Sunday and will be heaviest late morning into the afternoon, forecasters say. 

Sunday's temperatures could be in the high teens to low-20s, although Saturday is set to be the coldest day of the weekend, with wind chill values of 5 below zero. A light accumulation of ice, up to 0.2 of an inch, could develop along the South Shore, potentially adding to the cleanup challenge

In Suffolk, County Executive Edward P. Romaine encouraged residents not to park in the streets to make it easier for plows to clear the roads.

"Suffolk County is more than ready. All the salt is loaded on trucks. We have brine loaded on trucks to treat roads," Romaine said, adding that the county's department of public works would decide about the usefulness of salting roads during the colder temperatures. "We are going to be at this around the clock until the roads are passable and cleared."

Suffolk plans to close all county facilities on Sunday while warming centers are operated by the towns, Romaine said.

'We think we're ready'

On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency — a move that will allow the state to deploy aid and supplies, including snowplows, to counties and municipalities seeking assistance. Hochul also suspended early voting in a New York City special election.

"We think we're ready for this, but when you get complacent, that's when you get into trouble," Hochul said during an Albany news conference. "So I'm here to say this is a very dangerous combination of heavy snow and extreme, extreme cold temperatures."

PSEG Long Island said it has been performing system checks on critical transmission and distribution equipment to ensure the availability of critical materials, fuel and other supplies.

"We work throughout the year to prepare for extreme weather and to make sure the electric system is reliable," said utility spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler. "We are continually trimming trees away from power lines, enhancing technology to detect outages and working on reliability projects across the service territory — all to ensure greater reliability and to help prevent outages during storms."

Forecasters said the risk of power outages and downed limbs had increased with the possibility of an earlier transition to sleet. A glaze of ice accretion of 1/10th of an inch is likely Sunday night into Monday morning, forecasters said.

Hochul said more than 5,000 utility workers are on standby to respond to any power outages that occur.

Long Island school districts have already begun canceling or moving events scheduled for Sunday. Decisions about school closures or delayed openings would likely come during the weekend, officials said. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ruled out the potential for a traditional snow day on Monday for the city's nearly 1 million public school students, with classes scheduled to be held either in person or remotely.

Travel to be complicated

While local and state officials are encouraging Long Islanders to stay home for the duration of the storm, travel — whether by bus, train or by air — will undoubtedly be complicated.

NICE buses will be running through the storm, Blakeman said, unless officials make a determination that it's unsafe to operate them.

The leadership of the Suffolk County Transit system said they plan to meet Saturday afternoon to review the forecast and map out any potential service impacts, including delayed start times or reduced service.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said they anticipate subways, buses and trains, including the Long Island Rail Road, to keep running during the storm.

The LIRR has typically followed a policy of shutting down if 10 or more inches of snow accumulates on tracks because of the risk that trains could lose connectivity with the electrified third rail. 

LIRR President Rob Free said Friday that when the snow reaches 10 inches, the agency will review how the system is performing and determine whether changes are needed.

The Port Authority, which operates the region's three main airports, said decisions about flight cancellations will be made least 24 hours before the storm to reduce the risk of passengers being stranded and to manage airfield congestion during snow removal operations.

Many of the nation's largest airlines have already announced they will drop fees to change or cancel flights that could be affected by the storm.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.