Weather alert: Temperatures to plunge overnight

While Shelter Island is expecting no more than an inch of snow overnight, already cold temperatures are expected to plummet, and gale force winds will make temperatures as low as 8 degrees feel much colder.

That’s the word from the National Weather Service, which has been tracking a storm moving this way from the Midwest.

Reports from the Great Plains have indicated temperatures there are colder than in Antarctica.

Here in the East, New York City and Long Island will be spared the worst, while northern neighbors could be in for dangerously cold weather.

But that still means town officials here have to be prepared to serve residents who may find their homes not warm enough to protect them.

Senior Services Director Laurie Fanelli said she’ll be meeting with seniors and their caregivers today to alert them, and will take people to shop if they need food supplies.

Ms. Fanelli has also picked up extra supplies for the Senior Center.

If Police Chief Jim Read, the town’s emergency management coordinator, asks that the Senior Center be opened overnight, “We’ll be here,” Ms. Fanelli promised.

For those who must travel, even though snowfall is expected to be light, roadways are expected to be slippery and drivers need to use caution.

Residents are encouraged to check on elderly neighbors, particularly those who may be ill, to ensure they are  warm with enough food to sustain them.

If the anticipated cold sets in, North Ferry will be warming up its boat engines a bit earlier than normal, but no change in service is contemplated, according to Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation General Manager Stella Lagudis.

South Ferry also anticipates no change in its service for the morning, according to company President Cliff Clark.