Warm January beckons golfers, beachgoers

An unusually mild January on Long Island has the golf pros smiling and is giving snow removal companies plenty of time to work on their idle equipment.

As the month closed out Tuesday, an estimated 3,100 people visited Jones Beach, more than double the usual number on a January day, according to George Gorman, deputy regional director for state parks on Long Island.

"At this time of the year, we usually get people walking along the boardwalk, but when it gets warmer, people tend to play in the sand and enjoy it," Gorman said.

Temperatures topped out Tuesday at 55 degrees at 1:55 p.m. at Long Island MacArthur Airport, breaking the old Jan. 31 record of 51 degrees set in 1988, the National Weather Service said. Those records go back to 1984.

But forecasters say the mild January does not mean winter is on the wane. February is usually the snowiest month of the year, according to forecaster Rich Hoffman of News 12 Long Island. Warm air from the south kept temperatures higher in January, but cold air is going to push down from the north in the coming week, and we might be in for a tough month, Hoffman said.

The big state Department of Transportation trucks and crews that might otherwise be plowing snow or spreading salt have instead been fixing potholes, clearing drains and doing other chores they often defer until spring, state DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters said.

Adam West, general manager for ADCO Snow Removal in Island Park, said he had been repairing and servicing his 10 trucks. The company hires drivers as needed so operating expenses are low, he said.

"I've been in this business 30 years, and this is just one of those years," West said. "Last year was a good year. This year, not so good."