Weather

NWS: 11.8 inches of snow reported in Mattituck

Greenport_3 8am

Southold Town Highway Department Supervisor Vincent Orlando said Thursday’s blizzard brought down about a dozen trees across the town, most of which crews managed to safely move out of the way to be worked on tomorrow when the weather clears.

Mr. Orlando said the plan was for the plow drivers to take a break at 4 p.m. to eat and fuel up the trucks before heading back out again at around 5 p.m. as the snow starts to slow down. After that, crews will sand and salt the roads one more time, he said.

There was 11 inches of snow reported in Orient at 2:40 p.m. and then 11.8 inches reported in Mattituck at 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The Blizzard Warning expired at 6 p.m.

Minor power outages were reported throughout the town during the blizzard. Nearly 500 out of about 14,980 PSEG Long Island customers were without power earlier this afternoon, according to the power authority.

PSEG’s outage map shows that number had dropped to just over 100 customers without power as of 4 p.m.

Supervisor Scott Russell said there are reports of downed wires and trees across town, adding power loss has been intermittent.

“We have shelter volunteers on standby,” he said. “Visibility is zero and the power outages may extend well beyond the storm.”

Southold Town police said around 1:30 p.m. that North Parish Drive near Goose Creek Lane was blocked off due to a pole with wires that had been knocked down. PSEG was notified.

An officer was reportedly standing by near the Hellenic Snack Bar in East Marion on Route 25 due to wires down between poles. The road was still open, police said. There were no additional accidents to report, police said.

PSEG spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said around 2 p.m. that estimated restoration for areas in Southold are anywhere from 6 to 8 p.m.

“The winds have definitely picked up out there so we have seen what they call ‘lockouts’ from the wind,” she said, comparing it to like a fuse blowing. “We’ve had some trees fall on lines. We’re out there working. Crews have been dispatched and working to restore lines as quickly as possible.”

One particular ‘lockout’ caused a large-scale power outage for about 10 minutes this afternoon, she said.

The town has not declared a state of emergency as of 1 p.m. and is continuing to monitor the situation before making that call, the supervisor said.

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Photo caption: Carousel in Mitchell Park 8 a.m. (Credit: Grant Parpan)