Blizzard Packed 'Quite A Wallop' In Suffolk, Cleanup Challenging

COMMACK, NY — Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone said the county's crews are facing a challenge as temperatures continue to plummet while roadways are cleared and prepped with salt following Saturday's blizzard.

"We were in the middle of a blizzard yesterday, one of the most significant storms that we've seen in a number of years here now, after having many significant storms here, and it packed quite a wallop for us in Suffolk County," Bellone told reporters at a storm briefing at the county Department of Public Works Salt Yard in Commack on Sunday.

"We clearly — I think — took the brunt of the storm in our region," he added.

There are reports of over two feet of snow in certain areas throughout the county, such as Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

Bellone called the storm a very "challenging, difficult storm,"and noted that he wanted to get the message to residents that crews are still doing the work of coming back from the storm and clearing it.

"Because Mother Nature is not particularly being kind to us today with the temperatures, one of my concerns yesterday was that the forecast was for very low temperatures," he said. "You could feel that in the overnight hours — the temperature really dropping quickly, with windchills going below zero."

It did not help any that the snowfall did not stop until the evening in areas like the east end, so the snow turned to ice.

Bellone said that while many of the county's major roadways are down to the asphalt, they are not yet fully widened. But a lot of the work that is happening on Sunday will concern many side streets and tertiary roads that are still covered with snow and ice that is now packed in and packed down, making it difficult for snowplow operators to do their job.

That said, there will be a small window of opportunity to work on the roads to clear them and prep them with salt.

"The temperatures are going to go into the 20s where the salt will start to work with the sun on it, he said. "So there's going to be about a four-hour window where you'll see some melting before it starts to freeze back up again."

The county is continuing to coordinate with state and local partners at the Emergency Operations Center in Yaphank.

The county's goal is to have the roads ready for the morning commute for residents to return to work and school, Bellone said, adding that residents can expect to see the roads widen up and get back down to asphalt "completely in most all cases."

"But the challenge with the morning commute and with schools is going to be those sidestreets and to the extent to which you can get that packed snow and ice off of there and have it be safe," he said.

Bellone said the county's DPW has been out working since Friday.

Suffolk County Transit is up and fully operational, Bellone said, adding that anyone looking to travel out of LIMA should check their flight schedule because flights have been disrupted.

Bellone said he got stuck himself last night in a snowbank, but he was helped by a couple of good Samaritans and Suffolk police's Emergency Services Unit, who worked to pull his vehicle out and get him back on the road.

Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison noted that Bellone was not the only resident who was rescued, as the department responded to a lot of them, including nine car lockouts, 198 disabled cars, and 114 car crashes, but none of them were serious.

In the 3rd precinct, there was a 71-year-old man who went into cardiac arrest and needed Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and an Automated External Defibrillator was used to revive him before he was moved to a local hospital where he is "in stable condition," Harrison said.

He went on to describe the storm as "very difficult," but "the men and women of the police department really stepped up and rescued a lot of individuals."

On Sunday, highway patrol officers will be working along the Long Island Expressway to assist any disabled motorists, the department's motor carrier units will also be out patrolling, and there will be Humvees on standby.

"Once again, the roads will be icy, so we do encourage those, who have the availability, to stay home, if you have an option," he added.