More than enough

This week’s blizzard downloaded up to a foot of snow onto some areas of Nassau Monday night and Tuesday, while leaving other south and southwestern portions of the county with just more than six to eight inches.

While forecasters had called for far higher snowfall totals in Nassau than we actually got, accumulation was nonetheless significant and more than enough to make for trouble. Streets were impassable for a time, commutes were impacted, schools were closed Tuesday, meetings were canceled and residents were warned to stay inside or shelter in place in anticipation of dangerous conditions.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray declared a state of emergency just before noon Monday.

“I would urge all motorists to stock up on food and medical supplies now,” she said early Monday afternoon. “Once the snow begins, the town will ask drivers to limit road travel to essential trips.”

Crews began salting operation at 7 a.m. on Monday, making use of more than 200 pieces of equipment and more than 40,000 tons of salt that the town had on hand. Officials said on Monday that they anticipated needing approximately 10,000 tons of salt for this storm.

Wind-related issues were at the forefront of town officials’ minds, they said. Blizzard gusts force snow right back onto freshly plowed roadways.

“Hempstead Town will be working to keep neighbors safe and roads clear as this winter storm hits our area,” Murray said Monday. “We ask residents to help us by removing cars from roadways and by limiting car travel during peak snowfall periods.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued orders Monday afternoon to close state roads at 11 p.m.

“The roads are already very dangerous on Long Island and in other places, and they’re only going to get worse,” Cuomo said Monday. The travel ban was listed Tuesday morning.

LIRR service that stopped at 11 p.m. Monday night was restored at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The American Red Cross on Long Island opened a shelter at 5 p.m. on Monday at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, at 500 Leonard Blvd. County officials encouraged the homeless to make use of the county’s emergency shelter relief program, “WARMBED,” during the snowstorm.

Overnight, PSEG LI issued a statement indicating that Long Island escaped serious utility issues. “The first significant winter weather event of 2015 is having a limited impact on customers across PSEG Long Island’s service territory. PSEG Long Island is reporting that as of 3:16 a.m., 29 of the approximately 1.1 million customers across Long Island and the Rockaways, are currently without service. More than 550 mutual assistance line personnel and 200 tree trimmers are expected on Long Island to support all of the utility’s crews that are working as safely and as quickly as possible to restore power.”

All Nassau County parks and outdoor ice rinks closed at 4 p.m. on Monday, announced County Executive Ed Mangano. All regularly scheduled county events on Monday evening and throughout Tuesday were cancelled.

County courts were closed at 3 p.m. and remain closed Tuesday. The aquatic center in East Meadow and rifle range in Uniondale closed at 4 p.m. Monday, and the Nassau County Correctional Center stopped visiting hours from noon Monday to Thursday morning.

Franklin Square, Elmont and Sewanhaka Central H.S. District s were closed Tuesday.

“It’s clear that the impact is one of beauty, at least if you’re not stuck in traffic on unplowed streets,” said Ilene Schuss, who sent in photos of Eisenhower Park to the Herald via Facebook as the storm was just beginning.