Snow blanketed the ground as a winter storm hit the North Shore Dec. 16 into 17. Photo by Kyle Barr
Due to the impending snowstorm, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) issued a State of Emergency in the town effective 10 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 until 10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Vehicles that are parked in the street should be moved to driveways or they could be subject to towing at the owner’s expense. Any abandoned vehicles obstructing access for snowplows and emergency vehicles may also be removed by the town. Residents are urged to stay off the roads unless there is an emergency or if it is absolutely essential to travel. The County of Suffolk has also declared a State of Emergency. The current weather forecast indicates the likelihood of significant snowfall, across Brookhaven starting Sunday and into Monday).
Monday garbage pick-up is also canceled.
Residents should call 451-TOWN to report snow related issues. Call 911 for police, fire and ambulance emergencies only. To report a power outage or downed wires, call PSEG at 800-490-0075 or go to www.psegliny.com to file a report online.
Snow blanketed the ground as a winter storm hit the North Shore Dec. 16 into 17. Photo by Kyle Barr
*Update: This version of the story includes the number of homes who are still without power as of 4 p.m.
The Nor’easter that hit the east coast cut out power to thousands of homes on Long Island. By 4 p.m. on Thursday, the number of homes without power declined to 348. Earlier in the day, 3,444 homes were without electricity. PSEG Long Island said it had restored power to more than 98% of the homes affected by the storm.
PSEG LI expected to restore power to all homes by the end of the day.
“We expect to restore power to all remaining customers today,” PSEG LI said in a statement.
PSEG added personnel, including tree and line crews, to repair damage and restore outages. The utility had more than 1,300 line workers, tree trimmers, surveyors and other personnel on site to restore power.
“This storm brought down trees and wires throughout our service area,” John O’Connell, Vice President, Transmission & Distribution, PSEG Long Island, said in a statement. “We know that being without power for any length of time is a hardship and we thank our customers for their patience as we work through the damage and difficult conditions to restore their power [as] safely and quickly as possible.”
In an update on the storm, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) described the number of power outages as “good news,” as outages were a “big concern here because of the nature of the storm.” Bellone spoke with reporters at the Department of Public Works in Commack.
“We did not see a significant number of power outages in this storm,” Bellone added.
Bellone suggested that outages may have been lower because some of the limbs and trees that could have come down had already fallen or been removed.
Suffolk County Police Department Chief Stuart Cameron, meanwhile, thanked the Department of Public Works and the police department for working through the night.
As of 8 a.m., Chief Cameron said the county had 171 accidents since 4 p.m. the night before. Police were working on two active crashes, which is lower than they would normally have.
Chief Cameron also wanted to thank many residents of Suffolk County for heeding the advisory and staying off the roads.
Some of the ramps for the Long Island Expressway still had plenty of snow and slush on them. Chief Cameron advised drivers to consider taking the next ramp, if their exit appeared challenging from the conditions.
Chief Cameron also urged residents to give themselves plenty of time to clear their car of snow and ice before they need to leave their homes.
“My car was heavily iced,” Chief Cameron said. “It took me a long time to clean” it off.
Looking at the forecast for Friday, Bellone said the colder temperatures could create conditions for black ice. He urged people to be “careful throughout [Thursday] and into tomorrow as well.”
A look at Port Jefferson Harbor from the Village Center during Winter Storm Grayson as blizzard-force winds and more than a foot of snow pound the coast in January, 2018. File photo
As the nor’easter bears down on the mid-Atlantic states, the forecast for Long Island continues to include considerable snow, although the forecast varies by area.
The estimated snowfall ranges from 6 inches to 13 inches.
“We know the storm will be hitting us harder on the west end of Suffolk County, rather than the east end, where we’ll see lower amounts,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said during a weather update at the Commack Department of Public Works.
The storm will also hit harder in the north, rather than the south shore.
“This is going to be a heavy, wet snow, which is, of course, something that creates its own set of challenges,” Bellone said.
Bellone urged residents to return to their homes as early as possible tonight. The storm is expected to increase in intensity this evening through the overnight hours. During that time, snow could accumulate at the rate of one to two inches per hour.
“You should be off the roads by the latest, at 9 p.m. tonight.
While the east end will get lower snow totals, the area will have higher winds, with gusts of up to 57 miles per hour.
The county is opening its emergency operations center today and expects to have it open through tomorrow at 4 p.m..
The Department of Public Works has 200 vehicles ready, with about 19 tons of salt at their disposal to help clear the snow and ice from the roads.
Bellone urged residents to try to work from home on Thursday, if they can.
“Tomorrow is a day, if you can, to stay home,” Bellone urged.
Suffolk County Police Department Chief Stuart Cameron said this type of heavy snow can clog the chute of a snow blower.
“You should never, ever stick your hand” in the chute, Cameron cautioned, even if the device is turned off, because a blade can rotate and severely injure someone’s hand.
Cameron also advised against bringing a barbecue or generator inside the house because they release carbon monoxide, which can be dangerous to homeowners.
At this point, Bellone said there were no changes to the bus schedule. He urged residents to check for any modifications, particularly tomorrow after the snowstorm passes.
To report and receive status updates on an outage Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454) or to report an outage online visit www.psegliny.com
To register, have your account number available and text REG to PSEGLI (773454)
Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything contacting the wire. To report a downed wire, call PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: 1-800-490-0075
A snowstorm that took place Nov. 15, 2018 blindsided drivers on their way from work. Suffolk workers are trying to avoid that same situation. File photo by Kyle Barr
With a snowstorm the Weather Channel has already named Gail bearing down on Long Island, packing 50 mph winds and predicted snowfalls of around a foot, Suffolk County officials urged residents to avoid the Wednesday evening and Thursday morning commutes, if possible.
Suffolk County Police Department Chief Stuart Cameron said people driving in the snow during either commute could create dangerous conditions.
“People haven’t driven in snow for some time,” Cameron said Tuesday at a press conference at the Department of Public Works Yard Salt Barn in Commack. “If you can work remotely tomorrow, I would advise that.”
Similarly, Chief Cameron said the Thursday morning commute could be “much more impacted” and suggested “if you can stay home, that would be great.”
Additionally, he said temperatures close to freezing might create the kind of conditions that favors heavy, wet snow.
“If you have health conditions, it might be wise to pay someone to clear your driveway,” Chief Cameron suggested.
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said last year was a “light” year for snow, which means that the supply of salt for clearing snow-covered roadways is “plentiful right now.”
As of early on Tuesday, Bellone said the forecast called for snow to start around 2 p.m. and should worsen through the evening.
The combination of high winds, sleet and snow increases the possibility of power outages.
In a press release, PSEG indicated that the conditions could cause tree limbs to break and pull down wires.
PSEG is bringing in mutual aid crews to work with the company’s personnel on the island.
“Our workforce is performing system checks and logistics checks to ensure the availability of critical materials, fuel and other supplies,” John O’Connell, vice president of Transmission & Distribution at PSEG LI said in a statement.
During the storm, Long Island may create an enhancement to the outage communications process. With this enhancement, customers can contact the Call Center early in the storm to receive an “Assessing Conditions” message, rather than an estimated time of restoration.
This will give crews time to assess storm impact before setting power restoration expectations.
This procedural change comes after PSEG LI encountered numerous communication problems amid Tropical Storm Isaias earlier this year, during which customers couldn’t contact the utility and PSEG provided misleading estimated times to restore power.
PSEG said residents can report outages by texting OUT to PSEGLI. People can also report outages through the app, website at www.psegliny.com/outages or with their voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant app on their smartphones.
Residents who would like to report an outage or downed wire can call the electric service number, at 800-490-0075.
Bellone said county officials would monitor the power restoration process.
“Through the emergency operation center, we will be working closely with PSEG, making sure they are doing everything they can to keep power on and to restore power if it does go out,” Bellone said.
The forecast conditions may mean that plowing could take longer, as drivers operate during white out conditions, Bellone said.
“It’s slow going in these kinds of conditions,” Bellone said.
Bellone said the crews are prepared and will work in overnight hours to make sure roadways are cleared.
Recognizing all the challenges 2020 has brought, Bellone said it is “not surprising as we get towards the end of this very strange year that we’ll have another first: our first pandemic snowstorm.”
A tree falls on a mail carrier truck on Old Post Road in Setauket. Photo by Kyle Barr
Sustained winds of over 40 miles per hour, with gusts of over 65 miles per hour from Tropical Storm Isaias, knocked out power to over 440,000 customers, according to PSEG.
The storm uprooted a tree in St. James. Photo by Rita J. Egan
As of 9:45 am on Thursday, fewer than 140,000 customers were still without power, as PSEG said it had restored power to about 300,000 customers.
The utility expects to restore power to 85% of its customers by the end of the day on Friday, while the remaining percentage should have power by the end of the day on Saturday. PSEG tree crews and contracts have cleared 500 locations.
Customers of PSE&G were so frustrated with their inability to get through to the power company duringt the storm that they flooded the 911 phone lines, causing an increase of 400% in the volume of calls.
“That is related to communication issues that were experienced by PSE&G, where customers had a difficult time getting through or were unable to get through to report outages,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said during a press conference on Wednesday to provide an update after the storm.
Bellone suggested it was “too early to diagnose what the problem was” at PSE&G, but that is it “critical that we determine that for storms moving forward.”
Other New York officials, such as State Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport) have called for an investigation of the public utility. Just a day after the storm, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced he was directing the state Department of Public Service to launch an investigation in PSEG Long Island, along with other utility companies in New York on what went wrong with service restoration.
While Bellone stopped short of urging an investigation into the communication problems for customers, he urged an “analysis and understanding of what happened. This was a major problem. Communications in a storm is critical. We need to understand why it happened.”
PSEG insisted that the challenges with its communication systems didn’t impact the company’s efforts to restore power. Crews have been able to assess the damage and send teams to affected neighborhoods.
“We have overcome many of the issues with Verizon that affected our call center operations yesterday,” Daniel Eichhorn, president and chief operating officer of PSEG said in a statement. “We understand how critical it is to share accurate and timely information with our customers and we continue working diligently to fully resolve these issues.”
PSEG indicated it understood the importance of sharing accurate and timely information and is seeing improvements in call center operations.
The company is “working diligently to improve all of our systems to fully resolve these issues,” and urges customers to use the automated voice response system, if possible, at (800) 490-0075.
PSEG is opening four customer outreach centers, starting at 10 am on Wednesday, which is providing free water and ice in a drive-through service. The locations are at 175 East Old Country Road in Hicksville, 250 Willis Avenue in Roslyn, 288 Pulaski Road in Greenlawn and 1650 Islip Avenue in Brentwood.
A tree lies across Old Post Road East in Mount Sinai after the storm. Photo by Kyle Barr
The company has sent out 2,000 crews, including workers from New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Alabama, Kansas and Missouri. The crews will work 16-hour shifts around the clock until they have restored power. The teams will restore critical facilities first, then outages that affect the most people and then outages that affect smaller numbers or individual customers.
PSEG reminded customers that downed wires should always be considered live. A safe distance is at least 30 feet away. Customers who see downed wires should call 911. The company also reminded residents not to drive over or stand near downed power lines. Large pools of standing water could be dangerous because wires could be hidden in them. PSEG urged people to stop, back up and take another path if they see downed wires.
The county received 250 calls for downed trees and limbs on county roadways. Most of those were cleared by the early morning. As of mid-morning on Wednesday, five roads, including four in Huntington and one in Islip, remained partially closed. These are routes 17, 67, 86, 35 and 9.
Bellone said PSEG is aware of the outages and is working to restore power throughout the county.
Despite the calm after the storm, the county facilities, including golf courses, remained closed around midday Wednesday.
“We’re hoping to have those back online [Wednesday] afternoon,” Bellone said.
Smith Point County Park is also closed for swimming, as the outage has cut power to bathroom facilities.
Brookhaven Town’s Holtsville Pool is closed. Brookhaven’s town beaches are open, but Davis Park, Great Gun and Ho Hum beaches all have red flag conditions, which prevents swimming and limits water access to knee-deep wading.
Access to West Meadow Beach is also limited because of fallen trees in the area.
Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) urged residents to report fallen trees, damage from town roadside trees, flooding or other storm damage to call 631-451- TOWN or go to BrookhavenNy.gov/StormDamage.
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