Five Towns braces for nor’easter

As the last vestiges of the lingering warmth of summer fade, the Five Towns braces for rain, wind and even an outside chance of some wet snow this weekend.

Meteorologists are predicting a nor’easter, a storm that form out of low-pressure systems, features winds that tend to blow from the northeast and hammer the eastern seaboard with wet weather, to hit the area over this weekend. Although these storms can occur at any time of the year, they are most common between October and April. Long Island was hit by four nor’easters over three weeks last March.

The Five Towns are particularly vulnerable to flooding, due to its proximity to Jamaica Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and it’s low elevation. Local villages are preparing respond to any issues that the storm may bring. Ron Goldman, the village administrator for Lawrence, said that making sure the village’s storm drains are clear is a orimary focu., “We know where some of the most troublesome sports are,” he said. “We keep [the storm drains] as clear as we can, but if you try to pour 32 ounces into a 16-ounce glass all at once, its just going to over flow.”

The Village of Cedarhurst has a checklist of items they go over before any serious weather event. While  snowplows and salt trucks most likely will not be usrd, the village will use barricades to block off flooded streets and have chainsaws and wood chippers gassed up in case trees or power lines begin to fall, Mayor Benjamin Weinstock said.

Weinstock added that he hopes that some of the Hurricane Sandy relief projects will help prevent flooding during storms like this in the future. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to extend the bulkhead and add a pump station to an inlet Lawrence High School and Peninsula Boulevard.

Weinstock identified this location as one of their biggest problem areas, “Rockaway Turnpike and Peninsula Boulevard are important evacuation routes,” said the mayor. “They need to remain passable in a storm.”

According to Daria Mazey, the Army Corps’ lead planner for the project, they hope to begin the project by the end of 2019, and it’s expected to take five years to complete.

While not helpful for this weekend, this project will hopefully make future storms less of an ordeal. The National Weather Service still does recommend taking steps to prepare. These include stockpiling three days worth of food and water, creating an emergency communications plan to remain in touch with family and loved ones and staying off the roads as much as possible.

The NWS also recommends putting together an emergency kit with first aid supplies, a flashlight, extra batteries, a whistle to signal for help and a battery-powered or hand crank radio, as well as to following the forecast leading up to this weekend.