Weather

Winter storm drops six to 10 inches of snow across L.I.'s South Shore

Posted

Updated: 6 a.m., Feb. 10: A fierce winter storm swept up the Atlantic Coast on Thursday, dumping six to 10 inches of snow across the South Shore, according to officials and residents.

The snow began falling early in the morning, between 4 and 5 a.m. on Feb. 9, and did not let up for another 12 hours. As predicted, the heaviest snow fell at midday, when high winds whipped snow across local streets, causing near-whiteout conditions.

Schools were canceled across the South Shore, and many folks rode out the storm at home, so streets were virtually empty, allowing plows to work largely unhindered throughout the day.

By 4 p.m., the snow had petered out, and by 5:30 the skies cleared, allowing for a brilliant red-and-orange sunset to end what was a very tough day for Long Island.

People were seen in their driveways digging on Thursday afternoon, even before the storm wound down, as well as on Friday morning.

On Friday, school districts across the South Shore either delayed classes or canceled them entirely because of icy road conditions and extreme cold.

Nassau County opened its Emergency Hotline at 5 a.m. on Thursday. 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

To report an outage, call PSEG Long Island (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.