Thursday, October 1, 2026
A wintery mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain hit Long Beach on Wednesday, and came on the heels of seven snow storms starting with the December blizzard.
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch for Nassau County on Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday night, light snow transformed into sleet and by Wednesday morning, a freezing mix of rain created icy roads and hazardous driving conditions. Long Beach Schools had a two-hour delay on Wednesday and morning Pre-K was canceled.
Despite the thick sheets of ice on the roads, Fire Chief Scott Kemins said Wednesday morning that there were no major accidents in Long Beach, although there were some minor incidents.
“We had two calls for electrical wires down with minor power outages,” Kemins said, adding that both incidents took place between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Wednesday morning. “One wire was down on the 400 Block of West Chester. Another was down on the 400 block of East Olive [Street].”
Kemins said that the live wires were secured. There were five firefighters on scene during the incidents, who remained at each for approximately 20 minutes. LIPA was notified of both incidents, Kemins said.
Kemins attributed both outages to the heavy ice that developed over the course of Tuesday night into Wednesday. “The ice makes the wires heavier,” he said.
Kemins also said that one person was injured at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when the individual slipped on ice, but explained that the injury was not serious.
It was the latest storm to hit the area in less than a week. On Jan. 27, Long Beach residents received another wintery blast that covered the area in 16 inches of snow that created hazardous traffic conditions, school closures and LIRR delays.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, city crews were out salting local roadways yet again, and, because of the numerous snowstorms, Public Works Commissioner Kevin Mulligan said that the city recently ordered 150 tons of salt and 300 tons of sand. “We usually don’t anticipate this many snowstorms within this short amount of time,” Mulligan said.
Mulligan said that the frequency of the snow storms have stretched the city’s snow removal budget for the year thin. While figures were not immediately available, Mulligan said that the city budgets for snow removal and overtime costs, included among the budget's beach maintenance, street maintenance, sewer maintenance and other department line items.
“There’s planned overtime, you just know you’re going to face it,” Mulligan said. “If we continue to face and battle these storms, especially when they happen on a holiday or a Sunday, you’re dealing with overtime issues.”
Anthony Rifilato contributed to this story. Comments? CEngelhardt@liherald.com or (516)- 569- 4000 ext. 207.
