How Town Of North Hempstead Is Preparing For Major Winter Storm

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — The Town of North Hempstead has equipped trucks with plows and readied salt and sand in preparation for what's expected to be one of the strongest winter storms to hit the region in years.

Highway crews brined roads Tuesday and planned to mobilize dozens of salt spreaders Wednesday morning, Supervisor Judi Bosworth said in a news update. The town urged residents to stay inside beginning Wednesday afternoon as driving conditions could become "treacherous" into Thursday.

"We also want to keep as many vehicles off Town streets as possible to allow our crews to clear the roads," Bosworth said.

The town also asked that residents park their vehicles in driveways during snowstorms if possible to avoid plowing in cars and to give plows plenty of room to operate.

Residents should wait until streets are plowed to begin shoveling sidewalks and driveways, Bosworth said. Those who do shovel should pile snow to the left of the driveway from the viewpoint of facing the house. This will help minimize what will be plowed back.

"Please do not shovel or plow from driveways and sidewalks into the roadways, this can create ice patches and is a nuisance to neighbors as well as a safety hazard to pedestrians and vehicles," she said.

Once snow begins to pile up, plows will travel through the town to keep main arteries open for traffic and emergency vehicles. Residential streets will also be plowed to keep them open with a single lane. Once the storm ends, trucks will work to widen roadways by pushing snow to curbs and clearing intersections. Catch basins will be exposed to allow melting snow to drain and avoid flooding streets. Following the snow clearing operations, more sand and salt could be applied to roads to reduce icing.

Garbage collection began at 6 a.m. Wednesday to allow for routes to be completed before the storm. All town parks will close at 3 p.m. Tully Aquatic Center will also close at 3 p.m., and the "Yes We Can" community center will close at 6 p.m.

Those who lose power should call PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0075.

As Patch previously reported, it's been nearly three years since Long Island saw a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the area. That could change by Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday morning expanded a winter storm warning to all of Long Island. Total snow accumulations of 8-14 inches were likely for most of the island.

The winter storm warning will be in effect from 2 p.m. Wednesday until 1 p.m. Thursday. There's a chance of snow starting during the afternoon, but it will likely hold off until about 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., the weather service said.

Once it does start, it will pile up quickly. Snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour were possible and more than a half-foot of snow was likely be on the ground on parts of the island by midnight.

"Travel could be very difficult to impossible," the winter storm warning says. "The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute."