Long Island snowstorm preparation: How towns are getting ready

From western Nassau County to Montauk, Long Island towns are preparing for what could be the largest winter storm to hit the region in four years.

Meteorologists are forecasting 6 to 12 inches of snow this weekend — with local accumulations of up to 15 inches. The snowfall is expected to start falling late Saturday and last until Monday, the National Weather Service said on Thursday. The heaviest snow is forecast to fall through Sunday, as temperatures drop to dangerously low levels.

Government officials across Long Island said they are readying thousands of tons of salt to blanket roads and preparing hundreds of trucks to carry plows during the storm. Private contractors also are on standby. 

“We prepare for the worst and pray for the best,” East Hampton Highway Superintendent Stephen Lynch said in a phone interview on Thursday. Clearing roads during the storm is crucial for first responders, he added.

Town officials said they are paying close attention to areas historically vulnerable to storms and preparing to tackle unique challenges, such as freezing marinas and snowdrifts from farm fields. Staffing is another challenge, officials said. A storm lasting a day or longer is taxing to employees, officials said, and requires spending on overtime and hiring outside contractors. 

East End worries

On the East End, where open farm fields can expose roads to snowdrifts, highway superintendents are preparing by checking snow fences, which help trap windblown snow, and readying large snow-blowing trucks.

“I don’t really fear the total, I fear the wind,” Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said in a phone interview. Snowdrifts caused by strong winds can make roads near farms hazardous and impassable, he said.

According to the forecast, gusts on Saturday could reach up to 20 mph.

“We have a few roads that are very open with farm fields on either side,” Southold Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin said. “A road like that, you go through and open it up, and by the time you get to the other end of it, it doesn’t look like you were ever there.”

Employees with the town's Highway Department and Department of Public Works will work 24 plow routes to clear 400 miles of road, Goodwin said. A crew will also be stationed on Fishers Island, responsible for about 10 miles of road.

Ahead of the storm, crews are checking plow blades, equipment and about 7 miles of snow fencing throughout town.

Watching vulnerable areas

Oyster Bay Town officials are keeping an eye on the variables affecting the storm’s pattern. Syosset, Hicksville and Farmingdale “seem to get hit the most” during storms and will be “high priorities” while plowing, Supervisor Joseph Saladino said.

In Glen Cove, roads close to waterfront areas are vulnerable to icing due to chilling winds coming off Long Island Sound, posing a challenge during severe weather events, the city's general foreman, Manny Grella, said.

Shelter Island is monitoring the potential for storm surge. That could impact low-lying roads like Ram Island Drive, which connects the Ram Island neighborhood to the rest of Shelter Island, Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams said.

The same is true for low-lying areas in Islip Town. Supervisor Angie Carpenter said the town is monitoring drainage south of Montauk Highway in areas that flood most during heavy rain.

“When storm drains get covered with snow and it starts melting, that’s a problem,” Carpenter said.

Asharoken Village Mayor Greg Letica said based on Thursday's forecast, he doesn’t anticipate any major problems with the sea wall.

Babylon Town Councilman Terence McSweeney warned that residents who live in neighborhoods prone to flooding should expect flooding if snow totals are high. McSweeney said he is worried about possible freezing rain moving in after the snow comes through, which could "be a major hamper on the removal process" and make roads more dangerous.

Ocean Beach Village Administrator Joseph DiFrancisco said the small Fire Island community uses air hoses to blow bubbles into the marina when temperatures dip below freezing. If the water freezes, the pilings that keep boats and docks anchored “all pop out of the ground — it’s a nightmare. You have to put them all back,” he said.

In Saltaire, also on Fire Island, there are no roads to plow or salt. Instead, village staffers are on-call to plow Saltaire’s boardwalks, which residents use as walkways to navigate the village, according to Village Administrator Mario Posillico.

A tough toll

Officials expect one of the storm’s biggest challenges to be its duration.

“It’s tough on the crew. It’s a mentally draining job to stay sharp, to stay safe,” said Goodwin, the Southold highway superintendent. “I’m hopeful that everybody will be able to go home on Monday evening and start to get caught up on a little bit of sleep." 

Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti, in a statement, said the town has “carefully planned shift rotations … to prevent operator fatigue and ensure round-the-clock coverage throughout the storm.”

All that labor will cost municipalities. 

Brightwaters Mayor John Valdini said the timing of the storm is likely to drain the rest of the village's small overtime fund of roughly $16,000, which it uses to pay five employees to plow. 

But with a major storm approaching, officials said cost is not top of mind.

“The overtime is not a concern. It's the safety of the roads that are more important,” Southampton Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle said.

Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said he's planning to call on other town departments to help plow. 

Officials ask that residents be patient during the storm. Most towns have hundreds of miles of roads to plow and salt — and that takes time.

“Someone’s going to be first, and someone’s going to be last,” said Zaleski, the Riverhead highway superintendent, said. “That’s the nature of the game.”

Residents are urged to keep cars and other belongings off the street.

“Those portable basketball hoops should not be in the roadway,” Carpenter, the Islip supervisor, said. “Parking on the lawn is not something we would normally condone, but we say it all the time during a storm: keep your vehicles off the road.”

In some municipalities, officials are considering different tactics than during past storms.

In North Hempstead, Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said the specific strategy will depend on whether it’s a “powdery snow or a heavy snow.”

The town won't be able to “brine” the streets using a salt solution it has used in the past because temperatures will be too cold for the mixture to melt the snow, she said.