Powerful winter storm slams Valley Stream

Updated: 5:53 p.m. Thursday: As predicted, a powerful winter storm rolled into the greater metropolitan area after midnight on Thursday morning, bringing with it snow, frigid temperatures and heavy winds.

The National Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning and a Coastal Flood Advisory for Nassau County on Thursday morning. It is expected to last through Friday morning.

Most parts of Nassau County are predicted to receive up to eight inches of snow when all is said and done, with localized totals as high as 10 inches, while Suffolk could see up to 14 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather forecasters had warned that the storm system could shift off its current track. If it were to have veered farther east, into the Atlantic, snow totals would have been smaller. It, however, stayed farther to the west, bringing greater snow amounts across Long Island.

The extreme cold will be worrisome on Thursday, according to the NWS. The temperature could drop to as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and as low as -5 degrees, later in the day, with the wind chill factored in. Winds could gust to as high as 40 to 50 miles per hour.

In the Village of Valley Stream, 23 snow plows have been circulating the area since 4 a.m. on Thursday.

"We're out there," said Mayor Ed Fare. "We will have crews round the clock until the storm is over."

Fare said that residents should keep their cars off of the streets so that the plows can plow the streets from curb to curb. He also said that residents may not realize that their streets have been plowed due to the blizzard-like condition, which are refilling the streets with snow.

"[The] wind is really swirling things around," he said.

He also said he wanted to remind residents to shovel out any fire hydrants on their property and not to shovel the snow back into the street, adding that last year the village issued summonses to any resident that shoveled snow back into the street.

Emergency phone numbers are available on the Village of Valley Stream's Facebook page and website.

As of 5:53 p.m.,Valley Stream District 13 announced that schools in the district will remain closed for Friday.

More as this story develops.