Until late afternoon yesterday it seemed like the second nor’easter in a week to slam the mid-Atlantic and New England regions would be another windy rain event in the local area. Then the rain-snow line crept eastward and bands of heavy snow set up across Suffolk, dumping snow at the rate of two to three inches per hour.
“There’s always uncertainty with where the actual banding of heavier snow will set up,” said Adrienne Leptich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton. “Snow bands are not something the [computer] model can specifically pick up on. It doesn’t hone in on exactly where the banding is going to be,” she said.
“Once it does set up, it comes down in buckets.”
And that’s exactly what happened. The weather service issued a special weather statement yesterday evening cautioning that heavy snow and blowing winds would create near-blizzard conditions.
Temperatures rapidly dropped creating icy road conditions, resulting in multiple motor vehicle accidents across town in rapid succession. Heavy snow, ice and wind combined to snap limbs and fell trees, taking down power lines.
More than a dozen trees and large limbs came down on local roadways, impeding plowing operations for town highway crews, who are also responsible for clearing fallen trees, limbs and debris from town roads. Trees came down on county and state roads as well— at least two on Main Street and one on Route 58.
Power outages left residents, businesses and traffic signals intermittently dark around town. As of this morning 185 customers in Riverhead Town — most in Riverhead and Wading River — remain without power. Across the island
85,829 customers lost power during the storm, according to PSEG-LI. As of 5:15 this morning, service had been restored to 59,453 of the affected customers, the utility said in a press release. “Electric service crews worked through the night and will continue to work in difficult conditions to restore outages as safely and as quickly as possible,” PSEG said.
Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith declared a winter weather event, requiring all parked cars to be removed from town roads. Police urged residents to avoid all but essential travel last night due to road conditions.
When the snowfall ended, about four inches of wet snow had accumulated in central Riverhead.
Riverhead Central School District is on a two-hour delay schedule this morning.
Though temperatures are forecast to rise into the mid-40s today, motorists can expect some snow-covered local roads icy spots and slush during morning travel.
Town highway crews worked through the night plowing and dealing with fallen trees and limbs, Highway Superintendent George Woodson said.
“All the roads are open except for about five,” where the town is waiting for PSEG to repair fallen power lines. Once the utility is finished with its work, Woodson said tree crews will clear the fallen trees and branches from the roads, which can then be plowed.
Leave extra time and use extra caution, police said in a statement yesterday. Anyone encountering fallen wires should assume they are energized and immediately report them to police.
Forecasters, meanwhile, are watching the development and track of yet another coastal low that is expected to impact our area on Monday.
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