No blizzard, but nor'easter pounds Rockville Centre

The blizzard that was expected to pummel Rockville Centre on Tuesday did not come to fruition, but a messy nor’easter that swept across the South Shore still created barren neighborhoods and light travel in the village.

Many residents heeded the village's warning to stay home Tuesday when the storm swept across the South Shore early in the morning, bringing with it a mix of snow, sleet and rain. Wind speeds in the village reached 33 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

NWS forecasters initially predicted 12 to 18 inches on Tuesday, but about three to five inches fell instead.

Even with the downgrade, road conditions were still slippery and dangerous. Rockville Centre Police Officer Scott Hockney said there were no reported accidents as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, but added that road conditions were “poor due to the slushy and flooding conditions.”

“It’s been a quiet morning so far,” he said. “A lot of people stayed home, which was good. It’s given the plows to clean up the best they can. The more people who stay home because of the storm, the better.

Police officers did provide assistance at the intersection of Sunrise Highway and North Village Avenue, where the traffic light went out at around 11:30 a.m. There were similar outages at other major intersections along Sunrise and Merrick Road.

According to village officials, water from the storm caused an underground circuit to malfunction, affecting about 90 customers in the business district. Power was restored at around 2:50 p.m.

Rockville Centre Fire Chief Robert Seaman said the department also saw limited activity Tuesday morning, fielding just one rescue call. Seaman had 42 staff members on standby in eight-hour shifts throughout the six houses in the village.

“The roads are very quiet, there’s not a lot of traffic,” he said. “A lot of businesses are closed in town.”

Seaman described the road conditions as “icy” and “very dangerous.”

Village officials said Department of Public Works trucks are in “full removal operation” and are pushing out the snow and working on the sidewalks. The DPW will be working all day and will start salting after they finish plowing to prevent icing.

The DPW is responsible for plowing 53 miles of road, 30 parking fields and all village-owned sidewalks. Throughout the storm, the DPW had numerous pieces of snow equipment, including plow vehicles, dump trucks, and pay loaders.

The Rockville Centre School District, St. Agnes Cathedral School and the Rockville Centre Public Library were all closed on Tuesday. The library also canceled morning activities on Wednesday.

Special Long Island Rail Road trains sprayed de-icer on the third rail, which energizes the trains. There were still 15- to 20-minute delays on various branches in the early morning.

Thousands of flights at the region's airports were also delayed.

A coastal flood warning remained in effect through 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Town of Hempstead supervisor Anthony Santino advised residents with health conditions to avoid shoveling and call 911 only in an emergency.