With the inauguration of Donald Trump just eight days away, the president-elect is poised to assume office as the most unpopular chief executive of modern times. The protests that followed his election in many cities subsided, but a spirit of resistance to the next president’s agenda and cabinet picks has not.

Two events scheduled for Sunday illustrate a resolution to speak out on the South Fork. Writers Resist: Teach In/Speak Out happens from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Duke Auditorium in Chancellors Hall on the Stony Brook South­ampton campus.

On the other side of the political divide, on Friday, Jan. 20, the East Hampton Town Republican Committee will celebrate the inauguration with a black-tie-optional party at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett. Tickets to the 6:30 p.m. celebration cost $50 in advance and $60 at the door.

Confirmation proceedings for Mr. Trump’s pick for attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions, which opened on Tuesday, drew a number of protesters, and a telethon to be broadcast on Facebook Live on Jan. 20 will benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, Plan­ned Parenthood, and Earth Justice.

The following day, the Women’s March on Washington “will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world,” according to the event’s website, “that women’s rights are human rights.”

In the Stony Brook Southampton “teach in” component, from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m., writers have been invited to put their experiences, insights, or other observations to paper, in English or Spanish, with assistance from writers as necessary. The “speak out” section of the event, from 4 to 5, will feature readings by writers including Roger Rosenblatt, Megan and Scott Chaskey, Grace Schulman, and several others. A 30-minute reception will follow.

Canio’s Books in Sag Harbor, Poetry Street, an informal group based in Riverhead, Julie Sheehan, a poet and the director of Stony Brook Southampton’s M.F.A. program in creative writing and literature, and Kathryn Levy, an award-winning poet, organized the event.

“I am not known as an activist,” Ms. Sheehan, who lives in East Quogue, said on Tuesday. “I have become mobilized, as they say, by history.”

“We just thought it was the natural and right thing to do after the election,” said Maryann Calendrille, a partner at Canio’s Books, “to use our voices, and hear voices in the community. We’re always about encouraging creative artistic expression, and in this particular climate we think it’s especially important for people to speak about their experience, give witness, and support the ideals of democracy that we all hold dear.”

“We’re trying to encourage everyone to make their voices heard,” said Ms. Calendrille, who is organizing a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 21 march. “As a bookstore, this is one way we can participate.”

Before the event, a rally to support the preservation of the Affordable Care Act, which both Mr. Trump and the Republican majority in Congress have vowed to repeal, will take place at 1 p.m. at the corner of Montauk Highway and Tuckahoe Road in Southampton.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell announced on Friday that he would not seek a third term.

The announcement was made at a meeting for reporters who had been invited to join him at Goldberg's Famous Bagels in East Hampton. Mr. Cantwell, a Democrat, said that after weighing his options over the holidays, he decided he wanted to spend more time with his family and enjoy life.

Mr. Cantwell said that in his two terms as town supervisor he had put the public's interest first and that his personal and private interests had "taken a backseat." He said he had no specific plans for what would be next for him.

Mr. Cantwell said that, if anything, the election of Donald J. Trump as president would have motivated him to stay on.

He said he plans to work hard for the remainder of his term, which lasts through December. Mr. Cantwell said he has enjoyed every part of the work he has done as supervisor.

Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc said that Mr. Cantwell had spoken to him about his decision on Thursday evening. "I am disappointed that he will not be seeking another term. Larry has done a terrific job as supervisor, and the town is in great shape right now," he said.

Among Mr. Cantwell's priorities for the remainder of his term is to get a law adopted that would help residents upgrade cesspools and inadequate septic systems, which are polluting groundwater and harbors and bays.

He wants to press the Army Corps of Engineers on its Montauk beach replenishment project. He said that the next steps will include a maintenance plan prepared by the town; he said it remains to be seen if the Corps will listen.

Regarding the airport, the town acted with good faith and worked diligently to get noise restrictions in place, he said.

He wants to continue to press the state and the Long Island Power Authority to approve offshore wind turbines. He said he hopes to get Deepwater Wind, the company that hopes to build a new wind farm, to Montauk to meet with fishermen to address their concerns.

Mr. Cantwell said he feels good about having established a constructive dialogue between members of the board and the public, something he thought was especially needed given the previous town board. "The board has been focused on problems; the public is engaged in making decisions," he said.

Mr. Cantwell said that had spoken with other members of the town board regarding a successor. He said it makes sense to look to the incumbent members of the board. The town supervisor's post is a two-year term.

Mr. Van Scoyoc said that he was considering a bid for the post. Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, a Democrat, said Friday that she would not be interested in running for supervisor.

Councilman Fred Overton, a Republican, whose term is coming to a close, has said he will not seek re-election.

Sylvia Overby, who holds the remaining seat on the five-member board, could not be reached on Friday morning to gauge her interest in a bid for Mr. Cantwell's post.

Mr. Cantwell was elected to his second term as supervisor in November 2015 by a wide margin over Tom Knobel, the Republican candidate. That year's race was notable as the most expensive ever in East Hampton Town, as hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent by aviation interests to attack the Democratic candidates, who favored tight restrictions at East Hampton Airport.

“The overall state of the town is good, with positive progress on many fronts, and much more work to be done,” Supervisor Larry Cantwell said Tuesday at the East Hampton Town Board’s first meeting of the new year.

In his annual State of the Town address, Mr. Cantwell outlined areas of progress and future efforts. After years in which officials had worked to overcome a multimillion-dollar deficit resulting from financial mismanagement, he declared this week that “the financial footings of the town are strong.”

A recent Moody’s credit rating upgrade, to the Aa1 category, restores East Hampton to its highest credit rating ever. The favorable rating, which allows the town to take advantage of good interest rates, is a result, the supervisor said, of a “disciplined approach to managing town finances and budgeting,” notably the reduction of indebtedness, balanced budgets, growing surpluses, and annual tax increases that stayed within the boundaries of the state-imposed tax cap, thus earning taxpayers state property tax rebates.

“The town will see major reductions in annual debt service payments in 2019 to 2021 if we continue on this course,” Mr. Cantwell said.

Over the last three years, using the community preservation fund, which receives the proceeds of a 2-percent real estate transfer tax, the town has preserved more than 322 acres of land through 161 purchases, he said in his address. “Preservation is the better alternative to legacy and future development in the most environmentally fragile areas of our town. Preserving open space reduces future development density, protects the environment, and continues to be one of the most important priorities of our residents,” he stated.

A recent vote to use 20 percent of the C.P.F. for water quality programs, and to extend the program through 2050, will provide an expected $170 million for water initiatives and $680 million for more land protection, which “must continue to be one of our highest priorities,” Mr. Cantwell said. He noted that a law authorizing the use of preservation funds to encourage homeowners in environmentally sensitive areas to replace their cesspools and septic systems with new systems that remove nitrogen is forthcoming. Nitrogen is a widespread pollutant that comes from septic waste.

Also on the environmental front, the town board “believes our community must be part of the solution to global warming and sea-level rise,” Mr. Cantwell said.

With an expected energy deficit on the South Fork beginning next year, when demand will outstrip supply, “we must be leaders,” he said, in calling for renewable energy development, “and be part of the solution to end polluting fossil-fuel generation.”

The board, along with the town’s energy sustainability committee, should be lauded for its adoption of a “climate action plan,” and for the town’s certification by the state as a “climate-smart community,” the supervisor said. The town has earned state grants totaling $285,000 to “analyze microgrids, support home energy audits and home conservation, install electric vehicle charging stations, support solar energy, complete energy audits of town buildings, and replace a number of town vehicles with electric vehicles.”

Officials “will continue to support energy conservation, solar, and offshore wind energy,” he said, and to urge the Long Island Power Authority and the state to support the Deepwater Wind offshore wind energy project 30 miles east of Montauk.

Mr. Cantwell also outlined “important capital projects” expected to get underway this year, including replacing the senior citizens center on Springs-Fireplace Road with a new building at the same East Hampton site, and replacing the old Town Hall building. Money will be raised for those projects by selling the town’s old scavenger waste plant site on Springs-Fireplace Road, as well as its co-op offices on Pantigo Place, both in East Hampton.

The town will “continue to work closely” with Southampton Hospital on construction of a satellite emergency room facility at Pantigo Place, and will relocate Little League fields that will be displaced.

Ongoing planning efforts focusing on hamlet centers and on creating a coastal assessment and resiliency plan, known as CARP, will present both challenges and opportunities in the year ahead, said Mr. Cantwell. The hamlet studies, which incorporate community input, will focus on “how to make these centers safer for pedestrians and vehicles, improve parking efficiency, improve infrastructure, and address zoning issues and support local businesses without compromising rural character and environmental protection,” while “the CARP will bring into the forefront the need for our community to address the short and long-term impacts along our shoreline of erosion and flooding from more frequent storms, long-term erosion trends, climate change, and sea-level rise.”

While the town will continue to press the Army Corps of Engineers for a full-scale beach nourishment plan for the downtown Montauk shore, Mr. Cant­well said that “we need a new plan that will remove some of the most vulnerable development on our coastline, replacing it with natural sand dune protection, and land use and redevelopment plans to replace the most essential uses in less vulnerable areas.”

Following a court ruling that nullified local laws intended to control traffic at the East Hampton Airport in order to reduce aircraft noise, “the future of the airport is likely to be called into question,” Mr. Cantwell predicted. Attorneys for the town will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, and the town is also seeking Congressional action on its right to enact local airport restrictions, but “other options that would maintain a local-use airport while meaningfully reducing noise must also be explored,” he said. “Aviation interests must take heed as well, and work to find solutions to this serious issue before next summer or risk a growing call to close the airport in the future,” he warned.

Train shuttle transportation to and from East Hampton will also be on the agenda, in an effort to cut down on vehicle traffic that Mr. Cantwell called “a serious safety, environmental, convenience, and economic issue threatening both Southampton and East Hampton.” The towns are working with state officials and the Long Island Rail Road, he said, hoping to initiate shuttle service on the South Fork.

The town board will continue to prioritize residents’ quality of life and the enforcement of state and local laws, the supervisor said. Community response to a new rental registry law — 3,000 property owners registered in its first year — and a court victory in a case regarding vehicle access to a Napeague ocean beach were encouraging, he said. The board “will continue to protect public access to our beaches.”

On affordable housing, though “modest progress” has been made with zoning amendments designed to provide more opportunities, “the pace must improve,” Mr. Cantwell said.

The supervisor, entering the second year of his second two-year term, ended his address with wide-ranging comments about “civil discourse and debate.”

“The hate and violence in our country witnessed in the past year tears at the very fabric of our society,” he said.

“We can end this unconscionable hate and violence when all of us — and especially our leaders — use our words and action for positive change.”

Here in East Hampton, he said, he is proud of the way the board has worked together and listened to one another and the public, even in the face of disagreement.

The recent full-scale community response to the fire on Sag Harbor’s Main Street, Mr. Cantwell said, was, despite the devastation, “really one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen. It just reminded me what a special community we live in, and how proud I am to be supervisor.”

As the 115th Congress was sworn in Tuesday morning, more than 60 voters from the North and South Forks visited the Riverhead office of Representative Lee Zeldin, who was re-elected in November to serve a second term. Their message was one of “extreme concerns” regarding the incoming administration of Donald Trump as well as Congress.

During his successful campaign against former Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, Mr. Zeldin, a Republican, was a consistent supporter of Mr. Trump. On Tuesday, some of his constituents in New York’s First Congressional District presented letters outlining their opposition to many of Mr. Trump’s cabinet picks and his stated positions on health care, immigration, climate change, conflicts of interest, racism, and discrimination.

“We are here not as disgruntled voters, nor extremists, nor sore losers,” Kathryn Casey Quigley, who lives in Greenport, told the gathering. “We are here as concerned constituents. We are here to remind Lee Zeldin that he represents all of us, diverse constituents with diverse but considerable concerns, from women’s rights to immigration to discrimination to health care.”

In preparation for the event, Ms. Quigley and like-minded constituents drafted a letter to Mr. Zeldin, and all who visited his office on Tuesday delivered a copy, or one they had customized, she said. They also formed a Facebook group called Let’s Visit Lee Zeldin and launched a petition at the website change.org that had 150 signatures as of noon yesterday.

The informal group does not have a name, Ms. Quigley said after the event. “We just got organized, sent an email to some contacts, and it grew from there.” The efforts were part of a nationwide coordinated action by the organization Rebuild the Hope.

Outside Mr. Zeldin’s office, three of his constituents spoke about health care, immigration, and L.B.G.T.Q. rights. Afterward, they discussed their concerns with Mark Woolley, the representative’s district director, for about 40 minutes. Participants asked that Mr. Zeldin support investigations into Russian interference in the election and the proliferation of fake news, call on Mr. Trump to divest of his business interests, oppose legislation that would threaten undocumented immigrants, speak out against hateful actions and speech, oppose discriminatory legislation and many of Mr. Trump’s proposed appointees, and preserve the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.

“I went to try and make sure Congressman Zeldin hears that there are opposing opinions within this district,” said Robert Brody, who lives in East Hampton. “The main reason I went was because of the Republican agenda,” which Mr. Brody, a senior citizen, believes will include substantial cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Beyond that personal stake, “there’s a moral stake as well,” he said. “Many, many people were there because of the threat, or reality, of canceling the Affordable Care Act without any real replacement.”

“We talked a lot about health care,” Ms. Quigley agreed, pointing out that the Republican majority in the House has signaled that repeal of the A.C.A. is a priority. At Mr. Zeldin’s office, she said, there was a “lack of clarity as to the congressman’s position. He’s seemed to indicate that he was in favor of a replacement, but didn’t say how that will take shape or what it will be.”

“He was very polite,” Mr. Brody said of Mr. Woolley. “He didn’t really give any answers. A lot of spin.”

Julie Sheehan, who lives in East Quogue, delivered a letter about a friend who lives in Greenport whose child has leukemia. Her friend works in child care and earns low wages, she said. “Vote to save this boy’s life,” her letter read. “Vote to keep the Affordable Care Act, so that he can continue to receive treatment. Vote to keep Medicaid and other safety-net programs intact, because if you destroy them, you destroy his mom’s access to health care, housing, and food, and undermine his whole support system.”

Jennifer DiSiena, Mr. Zeldin’s communications director, responded to an inquiry about the representative’s position on the A.C.A. with a statement yesterday. “Congressman Zeldin supports repealing and replacing Obamacare,” the statement begins. “Obamacare has been nothing short of a disaster for countless hard-working families and our economy. The flaws in this health care system have resulted in higher premiums, higher deductibles, lost doctors, and canceled policies, among many other challenges. With the collapse of Health Republic in New York, which left over 200,000 individuals and businesses in New York without insurance coverage unexpectedly, as well as the collapse of dozens of other co-ops across the country, it has become increasingly clear to both Democrats and Republicans that this law is deeply flawed.”

The statement goes on to say that under Mr. Trump, “we can repeal and replace Obamacare with a system that will work better and make health care costs affordable, relieving taxpayers of the financial burdens under this failed policy, and give patients more choices, while still continuing to cover Americans with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents’ policy.”

Betty Mazur, vice chairwoman of the East Hampton Democrats, held a sign asking Mr. Zeldin to oppose Mr. Trump’s pick of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Pruitt, whom The New York Times has described as a climate change denier, must be confirmed by the Senate.

“Even though he doesn’t get to vote on the appointments, he can make his opinion known,” Ms. Mazur said of Mr. Zeldin. “Anyone representing the First District should not be a climate change denier in this particularly vulnerable area of our little planet.”

“It was a very earnest and articulate group,” Ms. Mazur, who lives in Amagansett, said of Tuesday’s gathering, “and this will be the first of many visits, I’m sure.”

“They made room for all of us and listened as everyone voiced their concerns,” Ms. Quigley said. “However, we would have liked to hear a little bit more substance and specifics with respect to the answers,” which she called “pretty vague.”

“We were really, really thrilled by the number of people that showed up on a rainy Tuesday morning,” said Eileen Duffy, another of the event’s organizers. Ms. Duffy, who lives in Quogue, campaigned for Ms. Throne-Holst. “I didn’t think somebody who could be a Trump supporter would be a good face for our district,” she said of Mr. Zeldin. “But we want to make sure that our voices are heard, as we are his constituents as well.”

Her next task, Ms. Duffy said, is to organize a town hall-style meeting with Mr. Zeldin. “If we could get 60 people on a Tuesday morning, I think we could fill an auditorium or a gym,” she said.

Starting at 6 a.m. New Year’s Day, the East Hampton Town Police Department, in one of the most sweeping changes in years, switched from a system of rotating shifts to a set schedule. The net effect will be more officers on the beat as well as a healthier police force, Chief Michael D. Sarlo said.

“The new schedule is a 12-hour tour chart with officers assigned to straight day shifts or straight nights,” Chief Sarlo said Tuesday. With P.B.A. agreement, the new schedule will be tried for a year, after which adjustments will be possible.

“The goal is to both give the officers a set schedule to improve their sleep cycles and standardize their shifts, as well as increase the available staffing levels and improve coverage on the road. With the new schedule, there will be on average two to three more officers each patrol shift, and on weekends there will be an additional four or five officers assigned to a routine patrol shift.”

According to Anthony Bosco, a member of the force as well as head of the East Hampton Town Police Benevolent Association, the quest for a revised schedule predates his almost 10 years on the force.

In an article in The Star in 2013, Joseph Fallacara, then head of the P.B.A., described the negative impact of rotation on rank and file officers. “The divorce rate with regular civilians is 55 percent. With cops, it’s about 90 percent. It takes a year off your life each year you do it,” he said.

Officers had been divided into five squads, which rotated through three time-slots in a roughly three-week cycle. The first shift ran from 7 a.m. to about 3 p.m., followed by an afternoon shift from about 3 to about 11, and then, after two consecutive days off, officers had the night shift, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. With the new schedule, each officer chose whether to work on the day or night shift before the year began, based on seniority.

Members of the force will now work in two-week cycles, alternating between two and three days on and two or three days off. The total number of days worked per year will drop, but the hours will remain roughly the same.

While rank and file officers were hesitant to speak for attribution, off the record, many were pleased. “It’s a long time coming,” one said. “For the first time in a long time, I know what time I’m going to sleep tonight,” another said. “I’m glad for something steady,” said an officer who chose to work during the day. “I haven’t heard anything negative. Everyone I’ve talked to is excited.”

The current head of the P.B.A. said the department and town officials began to home in on the new schedule after Labor Day. “We looked through a lot of different schedules. Eight hours, 10 hours, other 12-hour formats. None of them actually made sense,” Mr. Bosco said yesterday, at least until the final schedule was discussed.

The one-year trial period, the chief said, will allow adjustments in the schedule and management of the shifts at the end of the year, before becoming permanent. The P.B.A.’s contract runs to 2020.

“The health benefits for the officers are immeasurable, and the health and well-being of our people is extremely important,” the chief said. “Twelve hours is a long shift, but with overtime and special assignments, as well as grant-funded shifts, many officers were already extending their regular eight-hour tours into 12-hour shifts throughout the summer months.”

Among the grant-funded shifts the chief referred to is the effort to stop drunken driving operated from the county district attorney’s office, which pulls and pools officers from different departments to target different localities on weekend nights, particularly during the summer.

“I would also add that increased personnel within our department, with three additional officers added to our budget last year, as well as three officers retiring from line-of-duty injuries and being replaced, has helped us finally reach the staffing goals that make this schedule feasible for us to test out. It has been four years in the making.”

Mr. Bosco echoed a sentiment expressed by the chief, giving credit to the East Hampton Town Board “for enabling us to make the changes.”

In other town police news, the final weekly police report for 2016 indicates that calls for incidents of all kinds surpassed the record-setting number of about 19,685 in 2015 by about 200. Arrests skyrocketed to 848, an increase of over 100 from 2015, or almost 14 percent. That number includes arrests for both violations and criminal charges. The final figures will be sorted out over the next few weeks, when the chief reviews the year in a presentation to the town board.

Lax procedures in the East Hampton School District left sensitive personal data at risk of exposure for a period of at least a year and a half, according to a report announced yesterday by the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

Among the records that could have been improperly taken were district employees’ Social Security numbers, drivers’ licenses, credit cards, and banking information, including personal identification (PIN) codes.

Student records were never at risk, according to a reading of the state report.

Following an examination that began in July 2014 and was concluded in March 2016, the comptroller’s office found that the district potentially allowed users of Invision, its financial software, access to private details that should have been protected.

According to the report, which was formally released on Friday, the results of the comptroller’s study were not initially made available “because of the sensitivity of some of this information.” Instead, they were shared confidentially with district officials.

The report found that, despite school board policy, 18 people were improperly given access to a range of information, including personnel leave and other private or sensitive records. In addition, the 18 accounts allowed users to see vendor and budget records that had nothing to do with their jobs.

Three users, including Isabel Madison, the assistant superintendent for business, were granted system administrator access, though it was not necessary for their positions. System administrators can add new users, change access rights, and adjust record entries. The district told the comptroller’s office that officials granted Ms. Madison broad access when they learned of the audit, but neglected to revoke it later.

According to the comptroller’s report, the error gave Ms. Madison the “ability to add, delete, and modify records in all functions of the financial software” and “override controls and make changes to the system that may enable her to make intentional or unintentional changes.” There is no indication that Ms. Madison acted improperly.

Ms. Madison’s access to the system administrator functions was ended after the comptroller’s office brought it to the district’s attention.

Among other problems the comptroller’s office identified was that there was no record of user account creation or changes, despite a policy requiring that those records be kept. In two instances, users were able to improperly alter their own leave records.

Access to vendor records was configured in a way that left open the chance that someone could create fictitious vendors and issue purchase orders for goods and services for their personal use, according to the report. No examples of this were identified, however.

Similarly, the comptroller’s office found that nine users, including the financial software provider, were able to make changes to vendor records. Though there was no evidence that anyone had done so, the configuration left open the possibility that inappropriate payments and budget transfers could have been made or that fake accounts could be entered in the system.

District officials told the comptroller’s auditors that the problems began after a new financial software system was installed in 2014. They explained that they had been unable to properly restrict certain access to different parts of the system without making it impossible for some staff to do their jobs.

In all, 50 district staff use the financial software system; not all of them had the wrong access rights, the comptroller’s office said.

In a response to the comptroller’s office in December, Richard Burns, the district superintendent, pledged to continue to work to correct the problems. This included revoking improper user access and appointing an independent system administrator.

“We will adhere to exactly what they recommend,” Mr. Burns said yesterday.

Friday's snowfall of about four inches caused a two-hour delay at most South Fork schools as crews worked to clear the roads.

The Montauk School was initially on a two-hour delay, but then, around 8:15 a.m., announced a three-hour delay.

The Amagansett, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Springs, and Wainscott School Districts will all begin classes two hours later than usual. The Ross School is also on a two-hour delay. The Springs School's prekindergarten class at Most Holy Trinity has been canceled.

Southampton Town offices opened at 10 a.m.

Stephen Lynch, the East Hampton Town Highway superintendent, kept his followers on Facebook posted on the weather conditions, noting that the roads were slippery. He asked that drivers take their time during the morning commute.  

A winter weather advisory was in effect until 10 a.m. on Friday. More snow may be on the way for the East End. A winter storm watch will be in effect from Saturday morning through late Saturday night with possibly 4 to 7 inches of snow.

Update, 3:20 p.m.: Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman has declared a snow emergency, as did East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. 

Originally, 2:46 p.m.: As the snow continues to fall on the South Fork, officials are telling residents to stay home.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell declared a snow emergency on Saturday at 2 p.m., as did Sag Harbor Village Mayor Sandra Schroeder Residents are being asked to refrain from unnecessary vehicular travel. The Village of East Hampton is expected to follow suit. Parking on public roadways is prohibited until further notice in both East Hampton Town and Sag Harbor Village.

"We urge everyone to stay off the roads," Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Austin McGuire said Saturday afternoon. 

The Town of Southampton had not declared a state of emergency as of 2:30 p.m., but Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he did intend to do so shortly. Southampton Town police also urged drivers to stay off the road. In a statement, Sgt. Frederick Boese said the department had responded to numerous traffic accidents since 10 a.m.

Sergeant Boese said that weather forecast models show Southampton Town has the potential for up to 12 inches of snow.  "Blowing snow will decrease visibility and cause drifts, making roadways very difficult to navigate. Roadway surfaces are very slippery. Expect the eastern portion of the township to be hit the hardest," he said. 

The area is under a winter storm warning until Sunday at 1 a.m.

Several events around town this weekend have been canceled. Guild Hall canceled the Met Live screening this afternoon, but the Hamptons International Film Festival's Winter Classic screening of "To Kill A Mockingbird" is still on for Saturday night, as of now.

Looking to tap into the energy and insights of local teenagers while also giving them a chance to become more deeply involved in the arts, Guild Hall is establishing a Teen Arts Council whose young members will be paid to develop fresh programming for their peers this spring.

Applications for the council, which are available on Guild Hall’s website, will be accepted through Jan. 31. Members, who must be between the ages of 14 and 18, will be expected to attend all Teen Arts Council meetings, take part in programs developed as a result of the meetings, and volunteer at at least one Guild Hall event. The positions require a commitment of about two hours a week.

“This is something more than just an internship,” said Andrea Grover, the museum’s executive director, “it’s a paid position that will create a generation that feels aligned with and connected with Guild Hall.”

Ms. Grover is excited about the program both for what it can offer teens and for what they can bring to the museum. “They have a street-level perspective on culture. Teens adopt culture and technology at a very rapid pace. They help us open our eyes to new platforms, new technology, new music.”

The Guild Hall Teen Arts Council is modeled after a similar one at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis that was later adopted by arts institutions around the country. Ms. Grover’s husband, Carlos Lama, ran the teen council at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, where she got a close-up view of the kinds of programming council members came up with.

They organized a fashion runway show, battles of the bands, and film nights at neighboring institutions. “They curated an exhibition of teen art and were involved in every part of it, from concept to hanging,” and because participants were paid, “they had kind of a deeper focus,” Ms. Grover said. “Right away you’re saying they’re valued by the institution.”

Corey Jane Cardoso will coordinate Guild Hall’s teen council.

“Since I’ve been out East, everyone is saying ‘Bring out the young people.’ ” The problem with that, Ms. Grover said, is that so many young people leave the area after high school for school or work and do not return, “but we have so many teens here. . . . East Hampton High School has something like 750 students.”

Guild Hall will choose 10 to 12 high school students for its Teen Arts Council and expects them to be content producers, programmers, and curators, working with one another and the Guild Hall staff. The spring session will run from March 7 through June 6 and will result in at least one night of programming in the theater and one in Guild Hall’s education center, “but there may be more,” Ms. Grover said. “We will ask them to look at the existing programming at Guild Hall and see how they might find some tie-in.”

Meetings will be on the first and third Thursday of the month from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The winds of change blew stronger on Tuesday when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced the goal of 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind power to be harvested annually by 2030, enough to power 1.25 million residences. He pointedly added, in a State of the State address at Farmingdale State College, one of six scheduled this week, that “we are not going to stop until we reach 100-percent renewable, because that’s what a sustainable New York is really all about.”

The governor called on the Long Island Power Authority to approve a 90-megawatt offshore wind farm to be situated 30 miles off Montauk proposed by Deepwater Wind, a Rhode Island company. LIPA’s board of directors is expected to vote on the proposal on Friday, Jan. 20. The utility’s chief executive officer had previously indicated his support for offshore wind.

The governor’s remarks came one day after his announcement that the Indian Point nuclear power plant, in Buchanan, N.Y., is scheduled to close by April 2021.

The proposed wind farm’s 15 turbines, which could power 50,000 residences, would not be visible from the land, the governor said. “Not even Superman standing on Montauk Point could see these wind farms,” he said. “But the upside is tremendous. It will be the largest offshore wind project in our nation’s history, not just in existence. It’s jobs. It’s clean energy and it’s inexpensive energy, which then drives the economy. And we are not going to stop there.”

The latter comment was a reference to the state’s Clean Energy Standard, a directive announced in August that requires 50 percent of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, and his further pledge on Tuesday to achieve 100 percent of the state’s electricity needs from renewable sources.

The goals announced by the governor mirror those made by the East Hampton Town Board in 2014, when it voted to meet its electricity needs through renewable sources by 2020, and to meet the equivalent of all energy consumption, including heating and transportation, with renewable sources by 2030.

“I’m pleased by the governor’s support for Deepwater Wind’s proposal to provide energy to the South Fork,” Supervisor Larry Cantwell said yesterday, “and his commitment to renewable energy statewide. I think the town and state are aligned on this issue.” Mr. Cantwell said town and state officials have encouraged one another to move toward renewable energy sources in recent years “because we think it’s important to the environment, especially in a coastal area like ours.”

The supervisor conceded that the town could miss its goals by “a year or two. . . . We’ve got a long way to go with moving the rest of our energy consumption to renewables, when it comes to fuel, vehicles, and heating,” he said. The town is exploring adding more solar panels and energy-efficient lighting to municipal buildings, and electric vehicles to its fleet. The goal to meet all energy consumption with renewables by 2030 is “attainable within a reasonable period,” he said, but “we have a lot of work to do, and we have to be persistent in our day-to-day decision making.”

Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island, which is based in East Hampton, said in a statement yesterday that Governor Cuomo’s commitment to offshore wind “could make Long Island a regional hub for offshore wind development, creating jobs and attracting significant industry investments, while allowing the state to reach its renewable energy mandate.”

“It is really exciting to see that Governor Cuomo has now committed to shift to 100-percent renewable energy sources as our town did in 2014,” Mr. Raacke said. “East Hampton was the first town in the State of New York to set such a bold goal, and the idea seems to be contagious.”