Long Island waking up to slick roadways; Wind and power outages less of a concern
BALDWIN, N.Y. -- Roadways are slick for the morning commute on Long Island, but no major issues have been reported.
CBS New York's Zinnia Maldonado is live in Mobile 2 looking at conditions in Nassau County. She found some minor ponding overnight in residential parts of Lindenhurst.
Car stuck in flooding here in Elwood. pic.twitter.com/RVkMHx3LFQ
— sophia_b_hall (@sophiabhall1) December 11, 2023
The rain is expected to come down for a few more hours, and drivers should allow themselves extra time.
Fortunately, wind and power outages have proven to be not much of a concern. As of 6 a.m. PSEG reported 47 customers without power.
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The rain was coming down hard in Baldwin Harbor on Sunday night. Ahead of any major storm, people who live in flood-prone areas, like that one, do what they can to prepare.
"High tide, I think it's 6:30, so I'm ready for it. I'm waking up. I have an alarm set," resident Chris Hastings said.
Hastings said he's ready to move his car from Colony Drive to try and avoid flood damage, adding he is not taking chances after losing cars in previous storms.
"I've had to do insurance claims on three separate cars for flooding, just from waking up in the middle of the night my car being underwater, including last Christmas," Hastings said.
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Ashley Pynn said she can't forget that Dec. 23 winter storm. Her block in Freeport was also hit with severe flooding.
"Flooding is a real thing in this area. Pretty bad, being at sea level," Pynn said.
Before it started "raining cats and dogs" on Sunday night, some dogs on her front lawn were already dancing in the wind. Pynn said she was going to make sure they didn't face the same fate as her inflatables last year.
"We had a good 9-foot Rudolph that didn't make it and a snowman that was 12 feet tall that didn't make it," Pynn said. "I kind of wish, honestly, don't hate me Freeport town, but we don't get alerts in time when things happen and we have a canal in our backyard."
Homeowners were advised to secure their holiday decorations because heavy rain and strong winds will persist overnight on Long Island. Wind gusts may reach up to 60 mph.
One way the Department of Transportation prepared was by removing gates at the South Shore drawbridges to prevent them from being damaged.
Before the brunt of the storm moved in, a parking lot at Jones Beach was met with water, so flooding remained a concern. Devin Mulgrew said he expects it in Oceanside, where he lives.
"The streets are always flooding. We get the fresh water flooding, then it turns into the salt water and it's a mish-mosh of water," Mulgrew said.
Just like his friend Hastings, he said he plans to move his car.
As long-time Long Islanders, they know how to get ready for what's coming.
"We've been doing this for so long, my house was done in Irene and Sandy we got water both times. I love it here, not gonna leave," Hastings said.
With concerns for the Monday morning commute, the Long Island Rail Road is taking precautions, including arranging for buses if needed and deploying additional staff to deal with any weather-related issues.