Updated, Jan. 17 6:45 a.m.: Riverhead Police are advising downtown residents to move their vehicles out of the Peconic River parking lot tonight in advance of the powerful winter storm bearing down on the region overnight tonight, which is expected to bring moderate to major flooding to flood-prone coastal areas during Monday morning’s high-tide cycle.
Everyone who lives in a flood-prone area should pay close attention to this storm, police said in an advisory Sunday evening.
The storm is forecast to bring rain and strong winds to the local area overnight and into Monday morning. A high wind warning is in effect for the area from midnight tonight to 10 a.m. tomorrow. East winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts of 60 to 65 mph are expected.
A coastal flood warning is in effect from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. Two to three feet of inundation above ground level is expected in vulnerable areas near the waterfront and shoreline during the high tide cycle. High tide in Riverhead is about 11 a.m. [See editor’s note/correction, appended.]
In addition, precipitation tonight will begin as light snow before changing to rain, the weather service said. There will be at least a light coating of accumulation, as much as an inch in areas away from the coast, according to the National Weather Service. As precipitation mixes with and changes to rain, road temperatures may still be below freezing even as air temperatures slowly rise to the mid- and upper-30s, and a light glaze of ice may be possible on untreated surfaces, the weather service said in a special weather statement. Plan on slippery conditions this evening even as temperatures slowly rise, it said.
To report power outages, call PSEG at 1-800-490-0075 or text OUT to PSEGLI (773454).
Downed wires should always be considered “live,” PSEG-Long Island said in a press release. “Please stay away from them, and do not drive over or stand near them. It is best to maintain a distance of at least 30 feet from a downed power line. To report a downed wire, call 911,” the utility said.
The storm has pummeled other regions of the country and is expected to dump up to 18 inches of snow to Upstate New York. The storm will be a rain and wind event on Long Island and in NYC and Westchester, where coastal flood warnings are in effect. The strongest winds are expected across eastern Suffolk, where the high wind warning remains in effect.
Editor’s note: Riverhead Police Monday morning issued a correction to the travel and weather advisory issued Sunday afternoon, which stated high tide in Riverhead would occur at about 8 a.m. The correction states that high tide will occur at 11 a.m., not 8 a.m. This story has been amended to reflect the correction issued by police.
Published tide tables indicate Monday’s first high tide will be at about 8 a.m. The National Weather Service in its coastal flood warning and earlier coastal flood advisory stated that the first high tide in Riverhead Monday would occur about 11 a.m.
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