Bellmore-Merrick to be buried again?

Along with the rest of Long Island, Bellmore and Merrick are under a blizzard watch from late Monday into Wednesday, and schools in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and Bellmore School District will be closed on Tuesday in anticipation of the storm.

The Nassau County Department of Emergency Management projected at least six inches and, at most, 18 inches, according to Ron Luparello, a spokesman for the Merrick Fire Department.

“Right now it’s all a guessing game with the computer models,” he said on Monday morning and added that the department would have crewmembers and volunteers on standby starting early Tuesday morning into Wednesday.

Forecasts at the National Weather Service are high winds for Long Island as a powerful nor’easter is supposed to sweep into the area. If predictions hold true, the storm would have been one of the biggest March snowstorms in recorded history.

The storm will fall on a busy day for Nicole Cruz Chun, of Bellmore, who was scheduled for a C-section at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. To avoid having to drive during the heaviest onset, Chun said on Monday, “I'll probably be leaving my house around 4 a.m.” She added that her relatives would be at home taking care of her children.

“I have plenty of salt, shovels, a snow blower,” said Audrey Ciuffo, of Merrick. “And I think I’m good.” She added that she had been shopping for food and supplies at Best Market in Merrick, which was crowded with local residents who were, perhaps, doing the same.

Nicole Macaluso, of Bellmore, said that she started preparing for the storm last weekend by ensuring someone could shovel out her driveway, shopping for supplies and purchasing art sets for her daughter to enjoy during her day off from school. “We won't be going anywhere tomorrow and will make the best of some quality family time,” she added.

“This is going to be a very involved snowstorm…” Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino said at a press conference in Point Lookout on Monday, not far from where an Army Corps of Engineers is currently working on a coastal protection project for the barrier island. He added that snow would be expected to begin falling at 1 a.m. The period of greatest impact beginning on Tuesday with the morning commute and lasting through the evening, forecasters say. “We expect significant coastal flooding, we expect very high wind conditions and we expect a foot or more possibly of snow,” he added.

A coastal flood warning is in effect from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, and moderate coastal flooding was expected during periods of high tide into Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m hoping they’re overestimating,” said Vincent Scaduto, a spokesman for the Bellmore Fire Department. Starting Monday night, the Bellmore Fire Department was set to be on standby at all three of its stations, which are located on Newbridge Road, Bellmore Avenue and Petit Avenue. Scaduto said that, during previous snowstorms, the department receives less calls than he usual expects. “[Bellmoreites] know to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he added.

According to Santino, the town had 50,000 tons of rock salt on hand and, since Sunday, crews have been preparing roads throughout the town with snow-melting brine, and that more than 400 workers are ready to respond with about 300 pieces of equipment.

“Our crews will be out there plowing … to clear the over 1,200 miles of roadway that are in the Town of Hempstead … to make them possible as soon as we possibly can,” he told reporters at. “Our conservation and waterways crews will be monitoring the coastal erosion; workers are securing boats at the town marinas …”

At press time, PSEG Long Island was busily preparing for the possibility of power outages. “PSEG Long Island takes storms of this forecasted magnitude seriously, and we proactively prepare and position our restoration workforce so our crews can begin work as soon as the conditions are safe,” said John O’Connell, PSEG-LI's vice president of transmission and distribution. “In addition to scheduling additional PSEG Long Island personnel and contractors to respond to outages, we have arranged for utility crews from other states to provide assistance in restoring customer outages that may result from the storm.”

PSEG-LI offered this advice to homeowners:

* Save PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: (800) 490-0075.

* Follow PSEG Long Island on Facebook and Twitter for updates before, during and after the storm. Remember, though, that outages cannot be reported through Facebook.

* Downed wires should always be considered live. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything it might be in contact with. If a wire falls on or near your car, stay inside the car, call 911 and do not get out until PSEG Long Island de-energizes the line. If you must get out of the vehicle because it is on fire, jump as far as possible away from the vehicle, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time, and hop or shuffle away.

* Make sure everyone in the family is prepared and knows what to do if there is an emergency. Visit psegliny.com/page.cfm/Home/Safety to learn about safety tips from Sesame Street and YouTube videos.