A winter storm watch issued early Tuesday morning by the National Weather Service shows a northeaster is on its way on Wednesday, likely to bring lots of snow just a few days before the official start of winter.
“Heavy snow possible,” the National Weather Service said in a 4 a.m. advisory. “Some rain and sleet could mix in late Wednesday night. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches possible. Winds could gust as high as 50 m.p.h.” The warning applies to southeastern and northeastern Suffolk County.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.”
In anticipation of the snowstorm, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital announced it is closing its Hampton Bays and Southampton Covid-19 testing sites at noon on Wednesday. Parrish Hall in Southampton will remain closed on Thursday (the Hampton Bays site does not normally operate on Thursdays). The East Hampton High School testing site will be closed on Thursday. Patients with appointments will be contacted for rescheduling purposes, the hospital said in its announcement.
Locally, people can stock up on ice melt, shovels, and other winter necessities at places like Village Hardware in East Hampton. In a message posted Tuesday on Twitter, the store said it is “ready to supply you here in #easthampton for the #noreaster.”
Should there be significant snowfall, officials in most local school districts will declare a traditional "snow day" instead of shifting to remote learning for a day. East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, and Montauk are among the districts that will take that approach. "We're gonna go back to sleep (after my 5 a.m. phone call wakes everyone up), then we're gonna go sledding, build a snowman, shovel the driveway, take a nap, have hot chocolate — a little bit of normalcy!" Jack Perna, the Montauk School superintendent, said in an email to The Star on Tuesday. The Springs School superintendent, Debra Winter, said her district is "not sure at this time; [we] prefer to go remote."
In a statement, PSEG Long Island said it is “closely tracking the progress of this significant weather front, and we are hard at work making all necessary preparations to respond to the potential impact of the high winds and snow accumulations.”
The utility recently came under fire — and a state investigation — over its response to the Tropical Storm Isaias this past summer.
PSEG has advised customers to not use gasoline-powered generators indoors or in any enclosed space, and has said that any downed power lines people may encounter should be considered “live.”
PSEG has a cellphone app that customers can download and use to report power outages and find information on service restoration. Customers can also do this by texting OUT to PSEGLI (773454) or by visiting PSEG’s website at psegliny.com/outages. Downed wires can be reported by phone to 800-490-0075 or online at psegliny.com.
