Frigid temps, blowing winds, drifting snow: ‘This one was a crippling storm’

Icy conditions and blowing snow continue to make travel difficult Sunday morning, after a night that saw dozens of vehicles disabled across town due to drifting snow, Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said.

Snow accumulations since Saturday morning were in the 2 to 4 inch range, but sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph caused drifts of 7 to 10 feet in some areas, Zaleski said in a phone interview early this morning. Reeves Avenue and the eastern portion of Peconic Bay Boulevard had the worst drifting, and there was significant drifting on Sound Avenue as well, he said.

Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost said, “Several roadways needed to be shut down due to wind-driven snow drifts, which can cover a roadway very quickly,” Frost said. The blowing snow caused “very tough conditions,” he said.

“This one was a crippling storm,” Zaleski said. “The winds killed us.”

“There were lots of vehicles on the roads, lots of vehicles getting stuck all throughout the night,” Zaleski said. That hampered highway department operations as they fought to keep drifts under control, he said. 

As of 7 a.m. Sunday, “all roads are open,” the highway chief said. He hopes they will stay that way, but that will depend on how strong the winds are throughout the day today.  

Blustery northwest winds of 17 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph are expected today, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Wind chill values of -5º to -15º are expected. An extreme cold warning remains in effect until 1 p.m., the weather service said.

Zaleski said the highway department salt-sanded every road and did the main roads twice yesterday.  But, he said, “salt-sand with 20 below isn’t going to do too much.”

Highway crews started work at 3 a.m. Saturday and worked around the clock and then through the night, Zaleski said. He’s hoping they can get some rest today. Many roads didn’t have enough snow accumulations to plow — “you need two inches,” Zaleski said. “Then other roads had two feet because of the drifts.”

While some roads are showing bare asphalt because of the wind blowing the snow off the surface, other roads remain icy and snow-packed, he said. Zaleski expects them to remain that way until warmer weather arrives this week. The temperature won’t climb above freezing until Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather service forecast. 

State and county roads in the area are in the same shape, Zaleski reported.

With the howling winds, there was “constant drifting” on some east-west roads, including Sound Avenue, Zaleski said, and crews struggled to keep the drifts under control.

Stranded motorists were a big problem. 

Zaleski estimated that highway crews and police pulled about 50 vehicles out of drifts last night and during the early morning hours.  

“A car stuck in the middle of the road stops us from plowing,” he said. 

He described what unfolds.  A plow comes upon a stuck car. “The car is buried in snow. You have to try and chisel the snow away behind them, in front of them. You’re lying in the road,  freezing, getting wet. You have to try to find a place to hook a chain on their vehicle to pull them out. It can take an hour or more. It stops the whole plowing operation. Now you have two or three plow trucks waiting to plow, or trying to get him out. But they’re losing plow time, and then you lose your grip [on the storm] as drifts build up,” Zaleski said. 

After they get the vehicle moving, and get it turned around to retreat on a passable roadway, “We finally get back in the truck, we’re drenched, our fingers are frozen, and you get 300 feet down the road and there’s another one,” Zaleski said. “You start all over again.”

“I realize people gotta get to work or come home,” he said.  “But some people are just joyriding,” he said. “They’re not even wearing coats.”

“They’re driving along and come to an area that’s drifted over. They think if they keep going, they’ll punch through it. Then they realize it’s getting thicker and deeper,” Zaleski said.  And then it’s too late, he said. “They can’t stop at that point, but they can’t go forward and they can’t go back. They’re just getting buried.”

That can be dangerous, especially with brutal cold weather — and the potential for plow truck operators not being able to see the disabled vehicle. 

“The team work between the Highway Department, Buildings & Grounds Division and the police department was excellent and led to a successful outcome,” Frost said. He thanked all personnel for their work.

Zaleski also had praise and gratitude for the workers and the job they did. 

“These guys takes such pride in keeping these roads open,” he said “I can’t thank them enough.”