Jay Schneiderman Faces First Storm as Supervisor, Highway Department Ready to Go

As residents hurry out to buy the bread and milk and rev up the snow blowers, officials in Southampton Town are bracing for Saturday’s first blast of Old Man Winter.

According to Jay Engle, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Upton, the snowfall totals on the East End depend on location, with snowfall expected to begin Saturday just before daybreak.

Western portions of Southampton Town could see six to eight inches, with the eastern areas, as well as East Hampton and Montauk hit the least, with between four and six inches, Engle said.

The North Fork, he said, is expected to see six to eight inches. Riverhead, meanwhile, could see between eight and 12 inches,

A blizzard watch is in effect for the entire area, with a “50 percent confidence” the the East End could see sustained winds of 25 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour presenting potential hazards, Engle said.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, facing his first major weather event since taking office, said things are under control.

“We are well prepared to deal with this storm event,” Schneiderman said. “We have adequate resources available to respond to the current predicted level of winter storm activity,” he said. “Snow and high wind conditions will make driving Saturday particularly dangerous. I urge residents to stay off the roads.”

Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor said while it’s still uncertain how hard the South Fork will get socked with snow, town highway crews have been in “storm prep mode” since Wednesday. “We’re preparing for the worst,” he said.

Town snow equipment “got the heck beat out of it last year,” but Gregor said he’s been working since August to get it all back into shape.

Gregor had two crews come in Friday morning around 5 a.m. to pre-treat the main roads in town, both east and west of the canal, with salt brine, a practice he’s embraced for three years. The plan was to pre-treat about 30 miles of main roads, including Scuttle Hole Road, Old Country Road and Lewis Road in East Quogue.

The town, he said, has approximately 70 trucks ready to go, including 10 pay loaders. All the town’s three salt barns are filled, each with 1,500 tons of a half-salt/half-sand mixture. The town’s 56 employees as well 20 to 30 sub-contractors will all be on deck to man the trucks and pay loaders, he said.

“We don’t use straight salt because we are the East End and we care about the environment,” Gregor said.

On Saturday, the plan is to have all employees onboard by 6 a.m., first putting down salt, until at least 2.5 to 3.5 inches of snow have fallen. “Then we start plowing,” he said.

Gregor implored residents to make sure to stock their homes with essential medications and supplies on Friday. “When the weather comes, please try to stay off the roads.”

Residents are asked to park in their driveways, not on the street. Motorists are asked not to abandon their vehicles but if they must, to notify police. Abandoned, snow-covered cars are difficult to see and make cleanup difficult, Gregor said.

High winds have the potential to pose a problem, especially in the agricultural areas of town, including Bridgehampton and Sagaponack, where drifting is a concern.

In the case of a true emergency, Gregor asks residents to call the police so the town can respond.

Gregor said he and Schneiderman have spoken; the aim is, should the town see six or more inches of snow, for the supervisor to all a limited snow emergency, affording town highway crews permission to plow the 110 miles of non-town-maintained, private roads, clearing them in the event of an emergency.

High winds and a full moon Sunday could also lead to localized flooding in low-lying areas, Gregor said. He urged residents to go around, not through, puddles. “Go around, don’t drown,” he said.

And if there are barricades to indicate flooding or drifting, Gregor said motorists should respect them and not attempt to drive through, anyway.

Residents are asked to have patience while highway crews work to clean the roads for the Monday commute, Gregor said. “The most important thing during the storm and cleanup is please, just try to keep off the roads,” he said. “We’ll get through this.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Flagler, media relations specialist for PSEG Long Island, said the focus so far has been on monitoring the storm, performing system checks on critical transmission and distribution equipment and performing logistics checks to ensure the availability of critical materials, fuel, and other supplies.

“We will have personnel on hand to deal with any weather-related outages,” she said. “Contractors, including tree crews, will be available to assist the utility’s own skilled workforce, if necessary.”

While snow usually isn’t an issue for utilities, the possibility of heavy wet snow and high winds can increase the likelihood of downed wires and resulting power outages, she said, adding that vehicles striking utility poles can also cause wires to come down.

To report downed wires or power outages, customers should call PSEG Long Island’s Electric Service line at 1-800-490-0075.

Patch file photo.