Snowstorm slams Bellmore and Merrick

Along with the rest of Nassau County, Bellmore and Merrick experienced everything that the National Weather Service predicted and more in the Feb. 9 snowstorm, leaving many schools still closed on Friday.

In Merrick, blizzard conditions were in full swing by 8 a.m. on Thursday. Snow was falling at two to three inches per hour at times, and accumulations were expected to range between 12 to 16 inches.

When asked how conditions were on her end Thursday morning, Susan Cotto, of North Bellmore, said, ""They are horrendous!" She added that she trusted her driving enough to go to Stop and Shop, despite how dangerous the roads appeared.

Melissa Hadgkiss Sherer, also of North Bellmore, said that she "had a hard time opening the front door." Nevertheless, she was able to get on the streets and said that she saw three plows on Newbridge Road alone

Bellmoreites and Merokeans saw winds out of the north blowing at 20 to 35 miles per hour, with the strongest gusts up to 45 mph.

Ron Luparello, of the Merrick Fire Department, checked in late Thursday morning to report that there had been no significant accidents yet in town.

However, Luparello said, a crew of volunteers had been on hand at the firehouse since the night before, ready to respond quickly to any emergency.

"All has been relatively quiet," North Bellmore Fire Department Assistant Chief Brendan Narell also reported.

He added that crews were standing by in their fire houses, which is standard procedure in storms and hurricanes.

"With this kind of weather, you should stay off the roads unless you absolutely need to get somewhere. When shoveling be kind and dig out the fire hydrants on the block so we can use them in case of emergency."

All schools and after-school activities were cancelled in Bellmore and Merrick Wednesday evening in advance of the storm, and almost all schools in both communities' districts were also cancelled Friday,

Throughout the Town of Hempstead, crews were busy on Wednesday pretreating streets south of Sunrise Highway with brine, a snow-melting solution.

At a news conference at the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department, Supervisor Anthony Santino advised people to avoid driving as much as possible. "If you can, stay home with your kids and binge-watch their favorite Netflix show," he said.

Nassau County’s Department of Public Works began pre-treating roads with brine on Wednesday as well.

“Nassau County is helping to ensure residents have a safe commute by brining main County roadways, bridges and overpasses to prevent black ice,” said County Executive Ed Mangano. “DPW is at the ready to plow and salt county roadways. Our Office of Emergency Management is closely monitoring the storm and has put assets in place to assist residents should the need arise.”

Nassau County opened its Emergency Hotline at 5 a.m. For non-life-threatening emergencies, call (800) 315-5153. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911 immediately.

Homeless people in need of shelter should call the county's WarmBed Hotline at (866) 927-6233.

For flight delays at John F. Kennedy International Airport, go to panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airlines.html.

For airport alerts, go to airportinfoalerts.com/recentmessages.aspx.