Thursday, October 1, 2026
Long Island was buried under heavy snow and bitter cold on Sunday, as a powerful winter storm moved through the region, leaving hazardous roads and widespread closures that will impact the community for days.
Snowfall totals across Nassau County varied with many places seeing close to a foot of snow by the time the storm tapered off late Sunday night.
East Massapequa measured 12.2 inches, and both Glen Cove and Seaford recorded 12.1 inches, with East Meadow getting over 10 inches of snow, that piled up deep across lawns, driveways and sidewalks.
“The primary focus of the Public Works Department is to make the village roads passable, upon secondary clean ups, the plows will do a curb to curb clean up,’ Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach said in a statement.
The snowfall created dangerous travel conditions almost immediately, and by Monday morning, the aftermath was obvious across many key roadways. The Southern and Northern state parkways remained slick in spots even after plows had cleared much of the snow, making travel slow and treacherous.
Nassau police reported about 60 vehicular accidents from early Sunday morning through the early hours of Monday, many of them weather-related, as vehicles struggled on snow-covered and icy roads.
Temperatures dropped sharply as the storm moved out, with overnight lows dipping into the teens and wind chills making conditions feel even colder.
Forecasts indicate that daytime highs will struggle to climb above the upper 20s throughout the week, and the prolonged cold is expected to slow snow removal and contribute to persistent icy patches on roads, sidewalks and parking lots. Even after plows pass, melting snow could refreeze overnight and create black ice, especially on bridges and overpasses.
Public transportation was also affected by the storm. The Long Island Rail Road operated on a reduced weekend schedule on Monday, and several bus routes were limited due to icy roads. Nassau’s NICE Bus suspended all routes by mid‑afternoon Sunday due to dangerous conditions, with officials saying service would remain off the streets overnight and into Monday until roads were deemed safe. Riders were warned to expect delays and detours once buses return as conditions improve.
Schools across Long Island announced closures for Monday, citing unsafe travel conditions. Many public libraries, municipal buildings and community services also closed or postponed operations.
Anticipating the severity of the system, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday, activating state resources. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine followed with their own emergency declarations on Saturday, urging residents to take the storm seriously.
While this storm’s total were mostly between 10 and 13.5 inches, that was less than a historic January 2016 blizzard that dropped 16 inches in Bellmore and nearly 30 inches in areas such as Hicksville.
The heavy snow combined with persistent cold made this weekend's storm one of the most disruptive winter storms on Long Island in recent memory, affecting roads, transit and daily life as the region digs out and braces for more cold.
