Big-time snow day

Well, it wasn’t a white Christmas, but it got plenty white once the big day had come and gone. A blizzard some compared to the legendary storm of 1996 left Nassau county frozen in more ways than one. A snowy snaggle entangled the area after nearly two feet of snow blanketed Long Island, halting train service and rendering roads impassable. The National Weather Service said Nassau County received between 16 and 24 inches of snow and reported wind gusts of up to 56 miles per hour at JFK Airport.

Cold and inconvenience were the rule across the area between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, as residents huddled in their homes or struggled to dig out cars buried under mountainous drifts of snow. The Long Island Rail Road was forced to suspend service due to the storm, which left dozens of passengers with no choice but to spend a chilly night in the Hicksville and Jamaica stations. The LIRR managed to get a few trains running by midday Monday after hours of clearing tracks.

The Holiday Blizzard of 2010 also left L.I.’s streets and highways an icy white mess. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray declared a snow emergency late Sunday night and said that more than 200 pieces of equipment were being utilized to plow and spread salt. She urged residents to limit their use of vehicles to necessary travel, saying, “Roadways can be slippery and heavy snowfall can limit visibility. By minimizing vehicular traffic, roads can be cleared more quickly and residents can minimize the risks associated with driving in storm conditions.”

Murray also advised residents clearing their driveways to pile snow to the right when facing the road. By doing so, she said, residents would reduce the chances of having their driveways “plowed in” by town vehicles.

For up-to-date information on the snow emergency, residents can visit the Town of Hempstead website, www.TOH.LI.

Comments about this story? CConnolly@LIHerald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.