Nor'easter blows across Long Beach

About six inches of snow fell across Long Beach Wednesday night into Thursday, turning into ice by merely Thursday morning and forcing drivers off the roads. Most stores on Park Avenue were open and many shopkeepers had cleared paths by early morning.

Gregg Scott, the city's interim commissioner of public works, said Long Beach mobilized 59 pieces of snow-removal equipment, and crews worked overnight to keep roads as clear as possible. About 125 public works employees tossed tons of salt on roads Wednesday night and by Thursday morning, the "salt team" was out, Scott said.

Warmer temperatures kept snow levels down from the 8 to 12 inches some meteorologists had predicted, said Sam Pinto, a member of the Long Beach school board and local resident.

Pinto said that roads were passable Thursday morning, but we're turning icy. The ice, he said, was thick and dangerous and he warned motorists to stay off the roads.

Pinto said he planned to enjoy the day outside with his children playing in the snow."It's a snow day," Pinto said."People should enjoy it with their families.

A powerful nor'easter whipped across Nassau County, dumping 3 to 6 inches of snow on the South Shore and 4 to 8 on the North Shore. The snow, at times, mixed with light rain, leaving a thin sheen of ice atop the white stuff.

Road conditions were better on main thoroughfares, worse on side streets.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, snow still appeared to be falling lightly, and wind gusts remained strong.

School districts closed or were already on remote learning schedules.

The Long Island Rail Road was running 10 to 15 behind schedule systemwide. NICE Bus also reported delays.

PSEG-LI reported that about 3,300 Long Islanders lost power overnight, with 150 outages on Thursday morning.