Snow blankets Shelter Island

The Shelter Island Highway Department was out late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, taking on a winter storm that blew in from the west and blanketed the Island with 3-to-5 inches of snow.

Highway Superintendent Ken Lewis Jr. told the Reporter a little past 5 a.m. that crews hit the Island’s roads beginning at 10:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. “It was coming down pretty good there the first couple of hours,” Mr. Lewis said, before the weather turned in the wee hours to a wintry mix of sleet and rain.

Once the roads were cleared of snow, the crews laid down salt and sand on surfaces.

The temperature on the Island at 5 a.m., Sunday was right at the freezing mark of 32 degrees, but will rise with the sun to 36 degrees, according to the National Weather Service (NWA). Even though another band of dusting snow is expected around 7 to 8:30 a.m., Mr. Lewis said the worst is over.

Although the roads are cleared, Mr. Lewis said, he cautioned Islanders to stay home if they don’t have to go out. “It can still be slippery, if you’re driving or walking.”

There’s a chance of rain, mainly before 8 a.m. and it will be cloudy through mid-morning, with gradual clearing, according to the NWA. The high temperature today will rise to 38 degrees. The wind will be out of the northeast at 8 to 13 mph, shifting to the northwest this afternoon, according to the NWA. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph.

Expect clear skies tonight, with a low around 24 degrees. Winds out of the west at 7 to 10 mph, and gusting as high as 20 mph, will bring wind chill values between 15 and 20 degrees.