Southold scrambles to clear roads after storm ‘like a tornado’ slams East End

The Fourth of July fireworks show Saturday night was no match for the lightning that followed, as a fast-moving storm with powerful winds tore across the North Fork after days of blistering heat.

The storm sent crowds at South Jamesport Beach scrambling for cover during Riverhead’s anticipated 250th anniversary celebration, then left Laurel, Mattituck and Cutchogue among the hardest-hit hamlets in Southold Town.

Roughly a dozen trees came down, along with large amounts of broken limbs, wires and branches, according to Southold Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin.

“As far as the working conditions, that’s definitely something you have to be very mindful of, especially with a storm like Saturday,” Mr. Goodwin told The Suffolk Times on Monday. “With it being the Fourth of July, there were a lot of people out on the road, so there’s a lot of hazards that exist out there.”

Route 25 in Mattituck — between New Suffolk Avenue and Wickham Avenue — and westbound Route 48 in Mattituck, between Alvahs Lane and Elijahs Lane, were closed late Saturday night due to downed wires. Westbound traffic on Route 25 in Cutchogue was also detoured onto Skunk Lane late Saturday.

Southold crews stayed out until about 4 a.m. Sunday to clear the roads after the lightning storm lit up the North Fork skies around 9:30 p.m.

“We’re in good shape today. We’re just going around picking up additional debris. We have some additional trees that we need to go back to to finish taking them down the rest of the way,” Mr. Goodwin said.

He estimated the cleanup cost at about $10,000, including overtime, fuel and equipment.

Mr. Goodwin also said the department had to wait nearly a day before PSEG crews arrived to deactivate some of the downed wires.

There were about five outages across the Town of Southold as of Monday afternoon, according to a PSEG map.

The storm caused more severe damage farther west in Riverhead, where Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said it hit “like a tornado.”

Riverhead streets were littered with roughly 50 downed trees and large limbs, forcing the highway department to work into the early morning to try to clear them all.

“I deem it to be like a tornado; it was high winds, heavy rain, all at once,” Mr. Zaleski said. “We were just keeping the roads open, pushing trees off the road, large limbs, and a lot of wires were down, which really hinders the work.”

Ostrander Avenue and Howell Avenue were closed Sunday due to large trees and wires lying across the road. Police vehicles were also stationed at the intersection of Ostrander Avenue and County Road 58 on Monday morning because the traffic light was not working.

The highway department cannot touch anything when wires are tangled in trees until they are deactivated.

“This is a small taste, as bad as this was, of what a hurricane could be,” Mr. Zaleski said. “The only thing we can do as a town, and even as a homeowner, is prepare. Make sure your saws are ready, trim back your yards. Keep everything as ready as possible.”

A flood advisory remains in effect until late Monday night as torrential storms are expected to continue to hit the East End with up to four inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Flooding remains a risk in urban areas, along rivers, creeks and streams, and in other low-lying and flood-prone locations, Riverhead police said. Baiting Hollow and Wading River have been among the hardest-hit hamlets, with several downed trees snagging power lines.

“Downed wires should always be considered ‘live,'” PSEG said in a release Monday. “Stay as far away as possible from them, and if possible keep others, children, and pets away from the wire. Do not drive over or stand near any downed wire.”

PSEG crews have restored power to more than 34,800 customers since Saturday night. There were still nearly 50 outages from Wading River to Riverhead as of Monday afternoon. Tree crews have handled nearly 400 downed trees and more than 320 fallen limbs

To report an outage or downed wire, call PSEG Long Island at (800) 490-0075.