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Town prepares for severe blizzard and coastal flooding

By Ambrose Clancy

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Long Island, active Sunday morning through Monday afternoon. (Credit: National Weather Service)

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a blizzard warning from 1 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Monday for Long Island.

Falling and blowing snow with strong winds are likely, with the forecast now calling for 15 to 20 inches of snow. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous.

Wind gusts could be as high as 65 miles per hour.

There is also a Coastal Flood Watch in effect from Sunday evening through late Sunday night, which could inundate areas near the waterfront and shorelines with 1.5 to 2.5 feet of water. According to the NWS, Gardiner’s Bay at Orient Point may see breaking surf of 4 to 8 feet, causing beach flooding and dune erosion during high tide times of 1:06 a.m. and 1:18 p.m. Sunday.

Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read, who is the Emergency Management Coordinator for the town, has sent an update to the Reporter  on preparations for a blizzard:

Operational Coordination

I have been in conference with the Town Supervisor, and we will be issuing a Shelter Island Town Snow Emergency at 3 p.m. today.

The Snow Emergency will be effective Sunday at 12 p.m through Monday at 12 p.m., and can be extended if needed.

We have also been in coordination with the Town Highway Superintendent, and Highway crews report they are prepared for storm operations.

PSEG has advised they will be staffing the Island beginning Sunday evening and continuing through the overnight period into Monday in anticipation of potential outages.

Senior Services has also confirmed they are prepared should it become necessary to open the Senior Center as a shelter in the event of extended power outages.

Operational Status

  • Departments should finalize staffing and equipment readiness.
  • Expect the most significant operational impacts Sunday night into Monday morning.
  • Continue monitoring weather updates.
  • Be prepared for coordination communications should conditions require escalation.

Additional updates will be provided as conditions warrant.

The near white-out conditions from the most recent snow storm. (Credit: Jim Colligan)

The East End has been blanketed by a lot of snow this winter. Last month communities had to deal with the region’s largest snowfall since the blizzard of 2022.

PSEG Long Island said the storm could be strong enough to topple trees, bring down branches on wires and cause power outages.

“We continue to monitor this weather system and have performed system and logistic checks to ensure any customers who may be affected will have their power restored safely and as quickly as possible,” said Michael Sullivan, vice president of Electric Operations at PSEG Long Island.

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