NEW YORK—A wintry storm swept through the Northeast region on Saturday, stunning parts of New York’s Long Island with a pre-Halloween snowfall and leaving a heavy blanket of white on areas of the Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut. The storm knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands as it swept across the Mid-Atlantic states, weighing down or toppling trees still clinging to their fall foliage.
New Jersey and Connecticut both declared states of emergency, with 500,000 without power in New Jersey, including Gov. Chris Christie. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center and opened emergency management offices in Nassau, Orange and Dutchess counties.
“When you talk about snow hitting Long Island in October, it certainly catches people off guard,” said Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Craft. “I’m hoping that snow this early isn’t the start of a trend for the winter.”
The National Weather Service said on Saturday night a foot of snow had fallen in Harriman and 10 inches in Armonk in New York state, while West Milford, New Jersey, clocked in at 15.5 inches and Ridgefield, Connecticut, had 10 inches. Six to 12 inches were expected in the Catskills, and three to six inches around Albany, New York, The Associated Press reported.
Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches. The record for Central Park was eight-tenths of an inch, dating back 135 years. Parts of New York City received more than 2 inches.
City parks were closed on Saturday night because of the dangers of trees falling from snow and strong winds.
New York City last received a minor dusting in October in 1952.
Powerful winds knocked out power to as many as 5,800 residents in Nassau and Suffolk counties, delayed flights and sent emergency crews scrambling to keep roads clear.
The storm arrived resembling “a good old-fashioned nor’easter,” said Mike Layer, a weather service meteorologist in Upton.
Four inches fell in Mineola, with Suffolk getting off relatively easy with 0.3-inch reported in Oakdale and a trace of snow in Islip and Mount Sinai, according to the weather service.
The record for the month in Upton is a trace of snow.
Sustained winds were as high as 26 mph at Islip, but the weather service warned winds would strengthen overnight to 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of up to 65 mph.
Forecasters on Saturday night expected to see two to three inches accumulate overnight in Suffolk County, with six to eight inches piling up in Nassau County and Queens.
Flights at MacArthur, Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia airports were canceled. There were no serious weather-related problems for the Long Island Rail Road, spokesman Marjorie Anders said.
Snow was expected to taper off early Sunday, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-40s by afternoon.
Officials in Oyster Bay and Hempstead said they were prepared for Sunday’s cleanup—whether it involved snow, flooding or felled trees.
“This is really the first call of the winter season,” Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto said. Extra workers were on call in case the town needed to put plows on the streets.
(Newsday)
