Long Island’s first snowstorm of the season dumped at least 8 inches of snow in several towns across Nassau and Suffolk, spurred lengthy flight delays at area airports and warnings to stay home and off the roads. But by late Sunday afternoon, the bulk of the storm had moved east, with a just a few isolated snow showers lingering and a sunny, cold start to Monday in the forecast.
The National Weather Service said Monday’s high will top out at about 29 degrees with mostly clear skies until 1 p.m. After that, the forecast calls for increasing clouds and a 20% chance of snow showers through the evening, when the low will dip to 21.
A hazardous weather outlook posted late Sunday afternoon warned motorists to use caution and be on the lookout through the Monday morning commute for black ice.
Below zero wind chill
“Gusty winds of 30 to 40 mph may bring down additional snow laden tree branches through the overnight, with isolated power outages possible,” the statement says. The wind chill Monday will make it feel as low as 8 below zero into Monday morning.
Several Long Island school districts announced two-hour delayed openings Monday. The closings can be found here.
The snow began across Long Island at about 10 p.m. Saturday and was the result of a quick-moving low-pressure system crossing the region from west to east, forecasters said.
Plainedge and Farmingdale each reported 8 inches of snow, tops in Nassau County. In Suffolk, Commack reported 8.5 inches by Sunday afternoon, with Dix Hills next at 8.3 inches and reports of 8.2 inches in Center Moriches and East Northport.
Roads across Long Island were wet and slippery, and authorities warned that travel could be hazardous.
“Please, if you don’t have to go out, stay home. Watch Netflix. Watch a good movie, watch the football games,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a statement. “Take it easy if you have to go out, if there’s a Christmas party or a Hanukkah party, go slow. Go very slow. Plan on having a longer commute to wherever you’re going, because if you take it nice and slow, you can get there safely, and we’ll have the roads cleaned up as soon as possible.”
Snow and freezing fog was reported at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale and Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip.
Snow amounts appeared noticeably higher north of Farmingdale into Sunday afternoon. A heavy blanket of snow shrouded the trees guarding the traffic circle at Bethpage State Park. A few miles north, the snow seemed slightly heavier in Plainview, where Central Park Road disappeared in snow behind Plainview Hospital.
A LIRR train pulls into the Kings Park station Sunday morning as a blanket of snow forms on the platform. Credit: Joseph Sperber
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said that 150 of the town’s plows were clearing roads.
LIRR on or close to schedule
Meanwhile, the Long Island Rail Road reported most its service was on or close to schedule Sunday. The Nassau and Suffolk police departments had no reports of weather-related crashes on roadways by the afternoon.
Arrival delays at Kennedy Airport were averaging 48 minutes as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday but decreasing, according to FlightAware.com. Departure delays averaging 28 minutes were reported at the airport because of runway treatment. At LaGuardia Airport, departure delays were averaging 16 to 30 minutes late Sunday, also due to runway treatment. Arrival delays at LaGuardia were averaging 1 hour and 13 minutes, according to the latest FlightAware data.
Forecasters with the weather service Saturday had predicted at least 5 inches of snow would make it the highest level of accumulation on Long Island in a single storm since January 2022, when a blizzard pounded the region.
Daytime temperatures are expected to remain at or below freezing on Monday, and increase to 34 degrees on Tuesday, according to the forecast.
The low temperatures mean the snow is likely to stay on the ground through the middle of the week, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina.
Some relief is expected later in the week, with highs of 43 forecast for Wednesday and 51 for Thursday under partly sunny skies.
Newsday’s Sam Kmack, Tracy Tullis and Joseph Ostapiuk contributed to this story.
