The North Fork got pummeled by the Blizzard of 2015— with over 28 inches of the white stuff recorded, up to 70 mile per hour winds, and drifts of up to four feet — and tonight, the big clean up continues.
The East End saw Juno’s highest snowfall totals, with Orient topping the list at 28.5 inches and Mattituck following locally, with 24.8.
Although a state of emergency was lifted at 3 p.m. in Southold Town, residents are asked to allow road crews to continue their work to clean up Mother Nature’s massive snowfall.
Southold Town Highway Superintendent Vincent Orlando said crews will continue the big cleanup through tomorrow.
“It’s been challenge for sure, even compared to last year’s massive winter of longevity —but they were small storms, with 10 to 12 inches, as opposed to one 25- t0-29 inches,” Orlando said.
Some residents at the end of cul de sacs might see piles of snow outside, and Orlando asked for patience. “The snow has to go somewhere,” he said.
The roads, he said today, were in good shape. “They’re not Nascar perfect, but they’re in pretty good shape,” he said. Crews were out last night plowing from 9:30 p.m. until 4:30 a.m., when whiteout conditions forced crews off the roads until 6:30 a.m. this mornng.
After dinner, crews will be out again tonight and then, after a break to rest, will be back at work at 6 a.m. tomorrow to scrape and sand. “My men have been fantastic,” Orlando said. “We’re a team.”
Frustration, he said, included winds that swept the snow right back onto roads even after hours of plowing. “It’s the nature of the beast,” Orlando said. “We had to keep pushing it over.” Orlando said residents can expect additional drifting, especially near the farm fields, tonight.
Orlando thanked residents for being “very considerate. They understood that this was an epic storm, and were very patient.”
“Southold’s highway department proved once again that the workers there are the cream of the crop,” Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said. “Both the police department and the highway department kept working and working, despite how bad the conditions had gotten.”
Russell added that crews will be back at it tonight. “Tomorrow is going to be a challenge as we try to get rid of the snow. Plowing it out of the street is one thing. Finding places to put the mountains of snow is a whole new ball game.”
Despite being walloped by the storm, no Southold residents lost power Tuesday. According to Jeffrey Weir, spokesman for PSEG, that good news had “everything to do with prep work last year, including aggressive tree trimming and an equipment maintenance program. We’re working to enhance customer satisfaction.”
Eileen Peters, spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Transportation, said plows were out in Southold overnight, on two-to-three hour beats, and agreed conditions were challenging. “No sooner do you plow, and the roads are covered again.”
Regions from all over New York State came to the aid of Suffolk County. Governor Andrew Cuomo and County Executive Steve Bellone announced that approximately 500 pieces of state equipment, as well as the National Guard, were deployed to assist Suffolk in its cleanup efforts.
Peters said despite the challenges, it was a “safe storm, with no serious accidents,” something she said was a testament to Cuomo’s travel ban — which was lifted today.
During a press event today, Bellone thanked Cuomo for his “leadership.” He added, “I can say quite simply, ‘The cavalry is on its way.”
Despite being “hit, and hit hard” by the storm, Bellone said Suffolk County saw a drop in 911 calls and only a “handful” of accidents, something he also attributed to the travel ban. “We’ve talked about historic storms, but now we saw an historic response,” Bellone said. He thanked the public and reminded that a “huge amount of snow” still needs to be removed. “There’s a lot more work to be done.”
“Suffolk took it right on the chin,” Cuomo said, adding that the state was redeploying all its assets and moving them to Suffolk County.
Lifting the travel ban, he added, did not mean that residents should rush out on the roads tonight; he said people should stay home if possible and let highway crews do what they need to do.
Bellone said this afternoon that all county roads are currently open and passable. Southold received salt from the state, which was brought by the National Guard, he said.
County bus service tomorrow on the following routes will have a delayed start time of 9 a.m., Bellone said: 90, 92, 8A, 10A/B, 10C, and 10D/E. All other routes will start at normal hours of operations. Delays should be anticipated given weather and road conditions.
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl.
