Ice & Snow: A Dangerous Combination for Long Island

A sheet of ice covered Long Island, N.Y., on Feb. 1. Even more snow is on the way during February 2nd and 3rd. The storm began as snow flurries very early on Tuesday morning, followed by a light rain, which wuickly turned to ice. The precipitation could not be classified as snow or rain, but instead was an icing mist, which froze everything that it touched.

Black ice quickly formed on the streets, making driving conditions treacherous. Accidents lined Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Expressway, bringing traffic to a standstill during both rush hour commutes. Sidewalks are dangerously slippery, causing pedestrians that brave the icy conditions to slip and fall.

" Like the snow... Hate the ice... Fell on a patch in my driveway and hurt my wrist..." Bellport resident Penny Wehner posted as her status on her FaceBook page.

As my neighbor and her two children left my house to go home today, all three slipped and fell on the driveway. If you aren't wearing the proper boots or other foot attire, chances are that you will slip and slide. The same applies to cars without snow tires, which aren't very common on Long Island anyway. Cars slide, skin, spin out and flip over because drivers do not use snow tires or snow chains.

Even the trains are having issues, since the rails are freezing over. A Metro North train derailed outside of Greenwich, CT, carrying 500-600 passengers. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Long Island Railroad passengers are concerned that this accident is a sign of things to come over the next couple of days. A winter weather advisory has been released for all of Long Island from the National Weather Service, advising people to stay inside and not drive anywhere unless it is an emergency.

School districts are already announcing delayed openings. Even Dowling College, SUNY Old Westbury and SUNY Farmingdale have closed their campuses until 11:00 on Wednesday morning. The WALK radio website is the storm center where parents and students can get up-to-date information on schools' delayed openings and cancellations.

There is a rush on Home Depot, Lowe's nd other hardware stores for snow shovels and coarse salt. The stores can't seem to keep them in stock. Sears and other stores with a garden center are making a killing in selling snow blowers. Even the neighborhood kids that shovel snow for $20 are making a fortune. Even municipalities across Long Island are running out of salt and sand, and are forced to create their own brine to coat the streets in order to make driving conditions better.

Airlines are currently operating on or close to schedule. The FAA reports delays of 15 minutes or less at both John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport, which are the two major airports that Long Islanders fly from. No delays have yet been reported for Islip MacArthur airport on Long Island, but they do not receive overnight flights due to Town of Islip noise ordinances.

So, once again, Long Island is hit with a brutal winter storm. Take the advice of the National Weather Service and stay home. Catch up on old episodes of your favorite television shows that you missed on DVR. Drink some hot chocolate. Relax. And, whatever you do, don't drive.