Officials: Get Off the Road Early
With a dangerous, icy commute expected Monday evening, East Hampton Town police are urging residents and workers to get off the roads as early as possible.
"I think the roads will be terrible," Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said Monday afternoon. "As all this snow melts and sits on the roads, as we head toward 5 p.m., it will freeze and become a sheet of ice. No amount of salt or sand is going to stop it from becoming very dangerous," he said.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone issued a travel advisory Monday afternoon for all county roads, decreasing the speed limit to a maximum of 45 mph unless a lower speed limit is posted.
The National Weather Service issued a flash freeze warning for all of Long Island, after the mix of snow, rain, freezing rain, and sleet left the roads slushy. While highway crews in East Hampton and Southold tried to clear the slush off and lay out sand and salt, the roads will still ice over as the temperature plummets to the 20s, and even the teens in some areas, on Monday evening. Additional snow accumulations are expected on top of the ice.
"I think it's going to be treacherous," Stephen Lynch, the Town highway superintendent, said Monday morning. He said workers would be out later on Monday to sand and salt, again.
The road conditions were already proving dangerous. Just before 2 p.m., a 14-wheel truck skidded off the road into the woods near Cedar Street. The East Hampton Village Ambulance Association and the East Hampton Fire Department responded to remove at least one person from inside.
Flooding is part of the issue. "There's flooding all over because a lot of the drains are unopened because they are full of snow," Mr. Lynch said. In Bridgehampton, the portion of Butter Lane under the train trestle was flooded, and at least one car got stuck as it tried to go through the water Monday morning.
Schools canceled after school activities so that students could get home early. The East Hampton YMCA RECenter also canceled its afternoon and evening classes. The Wellness Foundation's Potluck Dinner and "Souper Bowl" contest, scheduled for Monday night at the East Hampton Middle School, was called off, too. The Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee also postponed its meeting, rescheduling it for next Monday.
In Southampton, Town Hall and other government officers were to close early at 3 p.m. The Amagansett Library and East Hampton Library also will close early at 4 p.m.
Looking ahead, the town board work session that was scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. has been postponed to Wednesday at 10 a.m. due to the "severe icing" that is expected on the roads Tuesday.