Here we go again

As the snow is vastly accumulating all residents in the hamlet and the surrounding villages can do is wait and see what happens. There are predictions of anywhere from 4 to 8 inches and wind gusts that will make the temperatures feel much colder than it is in actuality.

The first whollop we received was the nor-easter, which brought more snow than people had seen in years. That was on a Thursday, like today. Then the pregame Super Bowl snow came, but the accumulation was not nearly as much. 

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino took to social media on Wednesday to ensure residents that the “Snow-Fighting Crew,” or the Highway Department, was ready with salt and sand and was treating the roadways ahead of the storm.

“We anticipate a major plowing effort and have 300 pieces of equipment ready, including plow and salt trucks, pickups with plows and sanders, pay loaders and other equipment that cover more than 750 miles of roadways,” Saladino said, adding that residents should remove their cars from the roads to ensure a smooth plowing effort.

And while residents may have woken up to clear the snow off their cars, their children did not have to anticipate their schools closing because all Locust Valley Central School District and Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District students are on winter break.

As for power outages, there appears to be an outage near Greenvale that has impacted less than five customers, according to the PSEG Long Island power map. The cause is pending investigation and estimated restoration time is 7:30 p.m.

Warming centers are open at Marjorie Post Park Ice Rink at Unqua and Merrick Roads in Massapequa and at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center at 1001 Stewart Avenue in Bethpage. Both facilities will be open until midnight and social distancing and mask wearing is mandated.

Individuals without shelter are urged to contact the Department of Social Services, which has activated its Winter Sheltering Program, known as WARMBED at (516) 227-8519 during daytime hours. Between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., residents should dial the WARMBED hotline at 1-866-927-6233.

For those who are out of home heating fuel or are in need of an emergency burner repair, call the Department of Social Services Home Energy Assistance Program at (516) 227-7605 between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.

We have posted a couple of stunning post snow photographs from the last time that were sent to us by our readers. Email any photos you would like us to consider to llane@liherald.com. 

Watch your back when shoveling and stay safe out there.