Weathering the storm: Nor’easter update
So far so good.
That was the analysis of Highway Superintendent Ken Lewis after the first night of the weekend-long nor’easter.
At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, with sustained winds at 25-30 mph and gusting as high as 50 mph, the superintendent said there were “only two trees down, one across Burns Road and one on Manhansett Road” and highway department crew were clearing them. Dinah Rock Road in Hay Beach was alos temprarily blocked, with crews clearing it quickly.
Shelter Island Police Department Sgt. Anthony Rando reported at 7:45 a.m. that there were no major emergencies. “We had some coastal flooding overnight, with the worst on West Neck Road around 11:45,” he said. Water also reached the edge of the Ram Island Causeway, but didn’t cover either lane, the sergeant added.
There was a brief power outage that was quickly restored, Sgt. Rando said. As of 8 a.m., PSEG was reporting no power outages on the Island.
But there’s a long way to go, as Mr. Lewis noted. The two high tides today will be at about 10:45 a.m. and one at about 11 p.m. Plus, there’s a full moon tonight, which means higher than normal tides. Mr. Lewis said that traditional trouble spots for coastal flooding are Bridge Street, West Neck Road near West Neck Bay, and the Ram Island Causeway. These could be serious trouble spots with higher than normal tides paired with sustained winds.
One weather note in the Island’s favor is that it’s warm, Mr. Lewis said, and so if there are power outages, residents won’t have to deal with cold houses with no heat except for fire places.
The nor’easter, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) has settled over Shelter Island and will stay until Sunday night. Today, the NWS is calling for rain and a possible thunderstorm, with a high temperature of 65 degrees. New rainfall amounts will be between a quarter and a half an inch.
Tonight, more rain is in the forecast, along with possible thunderstorms after 11 p.m., with temperatures dropping to 58 degrees. The wind will stay sustained at 30 to 34 mph with gusts as high as 46 mph. The NWS is calling for new rainfall amounts of 1 to two inches.
