Two-Hour School Delay and More Snow on Deck for Tuesday

Potentially icy road conditions and the possibility of more snow on Tuesday have school administrators planning delayed openings for Tuesday morning.

Rich Burns, the East Hampton School District superintendent, announced a two-hour delayed opening on Tuesday at around 5 p.m. on Monday. "The district needs time to clear the buses of snow and make sure the pathways to schools are safe for students and staff," he said in an email.

The Amagansett, Bridgehampton, Montauk, Sagaponack, Sag Harbor, Springs, and Wainscott School Districts will all have two-hour delayed openings Tuesday. Montauk's prekindergarten class will start at 10:30 a.m. A note on the Montauk School's website also reads, "More snow expected later tonight, so please be prepared for possible closing again."

Katy Graves, Sag Harbor's superintendent, said district officials will re-evaluate the road conditions at 5:30 a.m. "Safety has got to come first in these circumstances," she said by phone on Monday.

The Child Development Center of the Hamptons, the Ross School, and Our Lady of the Hamptons will also open Tuesday on a two-hour delay. The Hayground School and the Southampton School District had not posted announcements online as of 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

As much as eight or nine inches of snow fell in areas of East Hampton Town, according to Stephen Lynch, the highway superintendent, who said he measured as much when he responded to a fire that broke out on Egypt Lane Monday afternoon. Strong winds and high tides under the Lunar moon caused water to breach at least two locations, Gerard Drive in Springs at the Second Causeway and Napeague Meadow Lane. Both were impassable, starting Monday morning. Mr. Lynch said the wind from the northeast storm was blowing the tide in. Police are monitoring those roads and have set up barricades. 

While schools and government offices on the South Fork were closed, many people still had to get to work, he said. The "considerable traffic" on the roads packed the snow down, making it more difficult to plow. But, Mr. Lynch had no complaints about the drivers. "You can't ask for a better public than East Hampton," he said. Motorists seemed to use caution by driving slowly and leaving extra room between vehicles as they drove. 

East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said there had been "a handful of accidents," none serious. "We've really seen everyone slow and use extra caution driving," he said.

Town highway crews have been out working since 5:30 a.m., were still working when he was reached by phone Monday just after 5 p.m. They had several more hours of work ahead as temperatures drop to around 19 degrees overnight, the National Weather Service said. "Now everything's turning to ice, so we're mixing up a 50-50 salt/sand mixture so people have traction," he said.

Plow drivers will go home late Monday night, but be back on the road no later than 6 a.m. Tuesday, depending on how much gets done Monday night and how much precipitation falls overnight, though Mr. Lynch said he isn't expecting much. The goal is to get the roads plowed again in the morning before the buses hit the road, he said.

During the day on Tuesday, three or four more inches of snow is expected. Another "dusting" of snow is forecasted for Wednesday, Mr. Lynch said. Saturday could bring another four to eight inches, "with another one behind that for next week. They were calling for rain, now snow," he said. 

"Hopefully the morning commute should be much better," Chief Sarlo said, adding that Mr. Lynch and his crew had done a great job Monday.