The weekend storm that dumped a picturesque 10.9 inches in Central Park hit Eastern Long Island with blizzard force and record 2-foot accumulations.
The National Weather Service said 26.3 inches of snow fell Saturday and Sunday at its facility in Upton, a record for that location since measurements were first taken in 1949.
The weather service recorded 25 inches in Holtsville, 24 in Bridgehampton and 23.9 in Islip. Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot declared a snow emergency, prohibiting non-emergency vehicles from traveling into the area.
Tanger Outlets in Riverhead closed Sunday due to high snow accumulations. In Nassau County, there were 15.2 inches of snow in Plainview and 14.4 inches in Bethpage.
The storm caused 1,200 flight cancellations into and out of the region’s three major airports. It also stranded 150 people on a Long Island Rail Road train for more than five hours.
The Ronkonkoma-bound train left Penn Station at 2:53 a.m. Sunday and was first delayed by snow and ice, then was stopped by a passenger car that got stuck crossing the tracks.
Road crews worked around the clock to plow the roads by Monday’s morning commute.
Joseph Williams, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, said abandoned cars on the Long Island Expressway were being towed Sunday to make room for snow plows.
Greg Caronia, deputy commissioner for the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management in Nassau County, said he expected 98 percent of the county’s roads to be plowed by Monday.
“We are receiving phone calls from people who are irate about plows plowing their driveways in,” Caronia said. “But this is a fact of life, they’re going to have to deal with it.”
Tanger Outlets in Riverhead closed due to high snow accumulations.
With Associated Press
