This snow won't be around for long
Tom Festa of Aquebogue tries out skis he bought himself for Christmas during the first snowstorm of 2012. (Jan. 21, 2012) Credit: Photo by Randee Daddona
Saturday's snowstorm belatedly turned Long Island into a winter wonderland, but another dose of balmy weather is coming.
Temperatures Monday are forecast to be unseasonably warm once again, with highs in the 50s, according to the National Weather Service.
Combined with sunshine Sunday and a 70 percent chance of rain Monday, the snow that blanketed the area won't stick around for long.
Forecasters credit a surge of warmer air from the Atlantic Ocean that's poised to swoop in from the southeast. Sunday's high temperatures should be in the mid-30s.
Plenty of spinouts were reported on icy Long Island roads Saturday, but the first snowstorm of the winter didn't cause any major accidents, according to police.
Airports reported some flight delays and cancellations in the morning and early afternoon.
Snow totals ranged from 5.3 inches in Southampton and 4.2 inches in St. James to 2 inches in Long Beach and 1.2 inches in East Meadow, said Mike Layer, a weather service meteorologist.
The Long Island Power Authority and Long Island Rail Road reported no serious weather-related problems.
There was plenty of playtime, however, as kids across the Island got out their saucers and skis.
Even adults seemed to enjoy it.
"I'm not a big snow fan, but it's nice once in a while," said Danielle Skjeveland, 37, of Hicksville, as she made her way to the nearby Broadway Mall.
Charlie Selling, 40, of Bethpage, and his daughters Courtney, 10, and Bethany, 6, were headed home from the mall yesterday afternoon to play in the snow.
"It's nice that it finally feels like winter," Selling said.
After getting blasted last winter, with more than 34 inches of snow falling in January 2011 alone, Long Island hadn't seen much snow so far this season.
There hadn't been even an inch of snow before yesterday.
With Candice Ruud
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