Monster storm pounds Bellmore-Merrick

A fierce storm, brought on by a powerful low-pressure system that swept up the Atlantic Coast, dumped an estimated two feet of snow on Bellmore-Merrick from late on Jan. 22 to the early morning of Jan. 24.  

The storm, however, didn’t stop Harry Mountanos, 59, of Merrick, from brooming off his Cadillac SUV and heading, ever so slowly, to work as snow fell heavily on Saturday morning. Mountanos is vice president of Larkfield Manor, a Northport catering hall. A large wedding was scheduled for Saturday, and the bride had no desire to postpone her big day.

So Mountanos did what he had to do. He cleaned his sidewalk with a snow blower, warmed up his car and drove off into the storm.

He wasn’t the only one. A handful of Merrick Road businesses, like Trader Joe’s in Merrick, were open on Saturday morning. The Trader Joe’s manager, who did not wish to be identfied, said the supermarket would remain open for at least a couple of hours, and a handful of shoppers could be seen buying groceries.

For the most part, however, the storm shut down Bellmore-Merrick. Few ventured out of their homes until Sunday morning, and the streets were eerily quiet. Only the sound of the wind howling through the trees and an occasional snowplow barreling down the road could be heard.

Firefighters throughout Bellmore-Merrick slept over at their firehouses to be able to get to calls quickly. "We want to have the members and the manpower at the firehouse. In a snowstorm, we have to have the resources at the firehouse, ready to go," said Ron Luparello, the Merrick Fire Department spokesman. 

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District canceled all weekend activities.

No power outages were reported in the Merricks. There were, however, reports of scattered outages in Bellmore, which were quickly restored.

On Sunday, local residents began the hard work of digging out their driveways and sidewalks. “We waited until it was over, and now we are coming out to clean up,” said Peter Donath, who owns a corner property in Merrick. “Figure an hour and a half to two hours. We have the whole sidewalk to do all the way around.”

Town of Hempstead work crews had largely plowed local streets by Sunday afternoon. That allowed people to get out and about, including to one of the South Shore's best sledding haunts –– Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore. 

National Weather Service, Extended Forecast