Just as the white stuff was melting from the last few storms, Suffolk was buried again under a powerful blizzard that will be remembered for its heavy snowfall, punishing winds and sweeping travel bans across Long Island.
By the time skies cleared, many communities had recorded between 14 and 22 inches of snow, with some South Shore and East End pockets pushing closer to two feet. Official measurements at Long Island MacArthur Airport topped a foot and a half, while higher totals were reported in eastern towns where banding intensified snowfall rates to two to three inches per hour at the height of the storm.
Wind gusts proved equally dramatic. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, combined with gusts reported as high as 60 mph along exposed coastal areas, created whiteout conditions and significant drifting. In open stretches across the South Shore, snow piled into formidable drifts, complicating plowing efforts and stranding vehicles before the full travel ban took effect.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency ahead of the storm, activating additional emergency resources. In Suffolk, County Executive Ed Romaine imposed a ban on non-essential travel, ordering most vehicles off the roads as conditions deteriorated. Nassau enacted similar restrictions. Police warned that violators could face fines as crews worked to keep primary arteries passable.
Long Island Rail Road service was temporarily suspended during the height of the blizzard, and hundreds of flights were canceled. Power outages were reported in scattered pockets of Suffolk, largely due to wind-whipped lines and falling limbs.
Meteorologists say the storm ranks among the more significant February snow events in recent memory, though it fell a few inches short of the benchmark January 2016 blizzard in total accumulation. Still, its combination of high winds and heavy, wind-driven snow firmly places it among Suffolk County’s most disruptive winter storms in recent years.