East Meadow, Salisbury blanketed with snow

After the National Weather Service upgraded its Feb. 9 forecast for Long Island to a Blizzard Warning from its original Winter Storm, the East Meadow and Salisbury communities braced for a heavier snowfall. 

The snow was expected to accumulate between 12 to 16 inches, turning from a wet, heavy snow into a powdery snow later in the day. Winds were expected to blow at 20 to 35 miles per hour, with the strongest gusts up to 45 miles per hour.

"The wind is whipping and the snow is really coming down fast," Helen Meittinis, the president of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue and Salisbury resident, said. Meittinis, who works in the Bolwing Green Elementary School, said that she sent out a cautionary post to CASA and PTA members to stay indoors and wait patiently for their roads to be plowed. 

"So far, my road has been plowed a couple of times so far, which is a really good thing," she said. "Plows came down early in the morning and have been hard at work since." 

Town of Hempstead officials said that crews prepped for the big storm on Wednesday by pretreating streets with brine, a snow-melting solution. The town said it has 400 pieces of equipment in use, spreading 4,500 tons of salt on the roads today.

Although Meittinis, who lives near the Bowling Green Elementary School, said her town road has been kept plowed throughout the blizzard, the heavy snow fall continued to cover the roads back up with wet snow. "After the winds die down and the snow settles, I hope parents can take their kids outside to play with the snow and enjoy the snow day," Meittinis said. 

After the East Meadow School District announced that all schools would close on Feb. 9 due to the forecast, Dave Hudzik, of East Meadow, said that he and his 5-year-old daughter, Molly, would play in the snow once things settled down. 

"It has been pretty bad out there," Hudzik said. "It's a wet, heavy snow. It's fun for making snowmen, but not so much fun to shovel."

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

PSEG Long Island officials said to expect possible power outages. To report an outage, call (800) 490-0075.

The Long Island Rail Road canceled nine trains on six branches on Thursday because of a non-commuter train derailment at Jamaica Station the day before. Because of reduced service and the snowy weather, riders should expect delays, LIRR officials said. Go to mta.info for updates.

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.

More on this developing story throughout the day.

--Scott Brinton contributed to this story.