Fourth nor'easter dumps buckets of snow on Oyster Bay and surrounding areas

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Oyster Bay and its surrounding areas got walloped with nearly 10 inches of snow from the fourth nor'easter to hit Long Island this year. Although weather forecasters were predicting it would hit on Wednesday afternoon, snow was minimal until the evening. When residents woke up on Thursday they knew they were in for some heavy shoveling.

The Town of Oyster Bay Highway Department had pre-treated roadways with sand and salt to help prevent black ice. Highway crews also cleaned and cleared storm drains in flood prone areas so that maximum water drainage could be reached. Over 125 Town of Oyster Bay employees had been utilized throughout the storm.

“I thank the dedicated men and women of our snow-fighting crew for their tireless efforts to keep our roads safe and passable,” Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said.

With over 290 pieces of equipment, including plows and spreaders in place, the town was prepared. And it had over 9,000 tons of salt and sand on hand too.

Many school districts, like the Locust Valley Central School District, were on a two-hour delayed start on Thursday. Others, like Oyster Bay-East Norwich, closed for the day.

Bus service was provided for LVCSD students, who were directed to go to the bus stops two hours after the normal pick-up times.

OBEN cancelled elementary parent-teacher conferences scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. It rescheduled the meetings for March 28, which will be a half-day at Roosevelt and Vernon schools. The evening conferences were also rescheduled for the same date.

Additionally, the school musical, “Imagine Oz,” has been rescheduled. There will be performances on Sunday, March 25 at 2 and 7 p.m. and Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets purchased for Friday evening can be used on Sunday evening and Saturday evening tickets can be used on Tuesday evening. Those with tickets that are unable to attend the rescheduled dates can request a refund or change the tickets by calling (866) 811-4111.

There were roughly 3,000 outages out of a million homes and businesses as of 6:30 a.m. Thursday, according to PSEG-LI. "While we haven't experienced significant damage related to today's storm, our personnel stand ready to respond to any power outages should they occur," said John O'Connell, the utility's vice president of transmission and distribution. "We're proud of the fact that our hardworking crews were able to restore electricity safely and quickly to customers who lost power from the nor'easters earlier this month."

To report downed wires or power outages, customers should call PSEG-LI at (800) 490-0075

Check for updates using the utility's outage map at https://outagemap.psegliny.com/

To report downed trees or stranded cars, call Town of Oyster Bay Public Safety at (516) 677-5350.

The Town of Oyster Bay updated its dialysis/medical emergency list. The staff will prioritize these areas when clearing roadways.

With snow, comes the use of snow blowers. The town is recommending that elderly residents and those with heart conditions let someone else handle snow removal, so avoid becoming a victim of the storm.

Do not run any gasoline-powered engines, including generators, in a garage or any other enclosed space, the utility warns, and do not use your oven to heat your home.

Those without shelter can contact the Department of Social Services, which has activated its Winter Sheltering Program, known asWARMBED, by calling (516) 227-8519 (during daytime hours). Between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. residents should dial the WARMBED Hotline at 1-866-927-6233.

Additionally, the town has advised that if residents are out of home heating fuel or in need of an emergency burner repair, they can contact the Department of Social Services Home Energy Assistance Program at (516) 227-7605 between 8:00 a.m. — 4:45 p.m. to find out if they qualify for the HEAP program.