North Shore communities get more than 8 inches of snow, forecasters say

Long Islanders dug out from under the first significant snowstorm of the season Friday, a surprisingly large snowfall that blanketed areas of the North Shore with more than 8 inches before ending by early afternoon.

Despite the snow amounts, the storm had a forgiving side. Power outages apparently were not an issue. Numerous main roads were cleared early in the day, and crews — some of them shorthanded due to workers being out because of coronavirus protocols — were focusing on secondary roads and side streets.

While there were dozens of crashes, police in both Nassau and Suffolk counties said most of them were minor.

Looking ahead, several officials said the focus would be on salting roads to prevent icing, as freezing temperatures were expected overnight.

Saturday is shaping up to be a good day for sledding. Clear skies are expected, with temperatures remaining at or below freezing, said Jay Engle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

More snow fell than initially predicted because the upper atmosphere was colder than expected, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dominic Ramunni. Earlier forecasts had called for 3 to 7 inches.

For Islanders, the fast-falling snow made for slippery commutes, school and flight cancellations, and a cardio workout while shoveling

Bill Caretsky, 69, was digging out his driveway in Northport so his furniture could be delivered. He had just moved back to Northport from Virginia on Thursday, having grown up in Northport.

"It's great to be back," Caretsky said. "It's part of living in Northport and living on Long Island and the North Shore. You get wind off the harbor, and snow, and it's a great way to have winter."

The storm dropped more snow than forecast in Brookhaven but didn't upset the operation of plows and other road crews, said Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro.

"Every storm is a challenge for its own reasons, whether it’s time of day or snowfall rates or staffing," he said. "There’s never the same routine with a storm of this size."

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

About 25 of the highway department’s 200 employees couldn't work because of positive COVID-19 tests or quarantines or planned vacations, Losquadro said. Private contractors helped fill in the gaps, he said.

Amy Martinez, 35, of Long Beach, said she was glad that she could work from home Friday — the norm for many in this era of coronavirus.

"Before COVID changed the work rules, I would've had to try to make it into the office," said Martinez, who works for a marketing firm in Melville.

She was walking her poodle, Shellie, on West Penn Street.

"It's beautiful how the snow is falling," she said.

Nassau's Glen Cove had the highest snowfall total — 9.3 inches, besting Suffolk's Setauket-East Setauket, where 8.7 inches had fallen, the weather service said.

LaGuardia Airport was blanketed with 9.7 inches of snow, topping the 6.2 inches recorded at Kennedy Airport and 5.8 inches in Central Park.

In Connecticut, which got the most snow in the tristate area, a northwest section of Waterbury measured an even foot.

Plows on the roads

Nassau had about 81 plows and trucks on county roads, making three different passes and covering about 4,800 miles after midnight, said County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Friday morning.

Blakeman said there were no power outages. He urged residents to check on neighbors and homebound seniors. The county has nonemergency call numbers at 516-537-0321 and a snow complaint hotline at 516-571-6900.

Some Islanders took the time to appreciate Friday's scenes of winter beauty.

Seeing the snowcapped docks and choppy waters of Northport Harbor, Suzanne Asher braved bone-chilling winds to videotape picturesque Long Island Sound.

"I love Northport Village. It's a beautiful spot and I just need to capture it," said Asher, a Realtor with Signature Premiere Properties.

She said the winter scene brought back the days of her youth.

"It's just so pretty. I could never live in Florida full time," she said. "It makes you feel like a kid again."

The state Department of Transportation responded to the storm on Long Island with more than 212 large plow trucks and 360 operators and supervisors, said spokesman Glenn Blain.

In Commack, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said the storm was "a little bit more significant" and that road conditions countywide were being described as "very slick."

The storm, though intense and disruptive, was not severe enough to qualify as a blizzard.

Many spots on the Island got about one-third of the 35.4 inches that fell during the winter of 2020-21, according to data from Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton and the weather service.

The Town of Babylon saw almost 8 inches of snow in some places, and Department of Public Works crew members were out clearing starting at 3 a.m.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said there had been 88 snow-related crashes between 2 a.m. and 11 a.m. By 5 p.m., the total was 132.

Nassau Police recorded 67 snow-related crashes Friday.

The Long Island Rail Road reported morning delays of five to 10 minutes on all its lines, but by 1 p.m., trains were back to running on or close to schedule on nine of 11 lines.

By the early afternoon, NICE, or Nassau Inter-County Express, said most of its bus routes also were running on time or with minimal delays of up to seven minutes as road conditions continued to improve.

Kevin Thomas, 71, mechanic and owner of K's Auto repair shop on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola, said his early-morning commute from Suffolk was tough.

"I got up at 4:30 and drove down here from Exit 62. It was crazy. I don't think I did 40 miles per hour," he said.

Thomas said the snowfall seemed to rob some people of their better driving skills.

"It's all the people who forgot how to drive," he said.

There were headaches for air travelers. As of 3 p.m., hundreds of flights had been canceled and delayed: 348 cancellations and 135 delays at LaGuardia; 235 cancellations and 218 delays at Kennedy; nine cancellations and one delay at MacArthur, according to FlightAware, a digital flight tracking company.

John Bulpis, 55, was driving a 1st Choice Ambulette, a transportation service provider for the disabled in Mineola. He didn't run into any issues, he said, because he started driving after the snow stopped.

"Everything was good. Just some of the side streets weren't [as clear]," he said.

The Islip Town Department of Public Works dispatched approximately 100 crews at 1:30 a.m. Friday to continue treating the roadways, work that began Thursday afternoon.

In Riverhead, roads were salted earlier to reduce the impact of the storm.

The state announced Thursday night that COVID-19 vaccination sites at Stony Brook University and SUNY Old Westbrook would open Tuesday because of the storm.