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Overcast Oceanside, I.P. brace for snowstorm
Schools closed on Tuesday in anticipation
As forecasters predict a powerful nor’easter to bring 12 to 18 inches of snow and high winds to residents across Long Island, Oceanside and Island Park are bracing for the storm.
All of Long Island is under a Blizzard Watch from Monday into Wednesday, as some are projecting one of the biggest March snowstorms in recorded history. Snow is expected to start falling late Monday night into early Tuesday morning. The period of greatest impact is Tuesday, beginning with the morning commute and lasting through the evening, forecasters said, as local municipalities begin to prepare.
Both the Oceanside and Island Park school district are closed on Tuesday due to the forecast.
Ed Scharfberg, spokesman for the Oceanside Fire Department, said Monday that the OFD’s trucks are ready and loaded with snow removal equipment. The department anticipates gathering all of its members in its firehouses on Tuesday morning. He said the OFD is also prepared for coastal flooding.
Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty said the village began preparing for the storm as early as Sunday, when the village mechanic was suiting up an old ambulance. The village’s Department of Public Works readied the plows Monday morning, and like the last storm, was using a mix with more salt and less sand to aid in clearing the roads.
McGinty said that the village would pay special attention to the “low spot” on the corner of Radcliffe Road and Deal Road in front of Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School, as well as Nassau Lane, Marina Road and Lorraine Road, and other areas that are especially vulnerable during storms.
The mayor said he would contact American Water, National Grid, PSEG Long Island and the Nassau County Police Department’s fourth precinct in anticipation of the storm. He added that Village Hall would be open on Tuesday, despite the storm.
Island Park Fire Chief Jim Sarro said he had instructed his firefighters to equip all of their trucks with shovels and Speedy Dry — a high performance absorption compound — to help stranded vehicles gain traction in the snow.
“We’re about as ready as everyone else is,” Sarro said. He plans to call a “snow standby” for the department at about 8 a.m. on Tuesday so firefighters are at the firehouse and ready to respond as soon as possible.
Additionally, the department also has a high-water vehicle on standby from the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office in case of flooding. He advised residents to stay off the roads during the storm.
“This appear to be the big one,” Town of Hempstead Supervisor 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. “This is going to be a very involved snowstorm — we expect significant coastal flooding, we expect very high wind conditions and we expect a foot or more possibly of snow.”
The town has 50,000 tons of rock salt on hand, according to Santino. Crews were out in force since last Sunday preparing roads throughout the town with snow-melting brine, he added, and more than 400 workers are ready to respond with about 300 pieces of equipment.
PSEG Long Island is 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.”
