Extreme Long Island floodwaters recede, but officials warn roads will freeze next
CARLE PLACE, N.Y. -- On parts of Long Island, floods from Friday morning's rain have receded, but officials are sounding a warning about icy roads and wind at night.
We've seen a whole gamut of weather extremes, from rain to flooding and a dramatic temperature drop.
In Island Park, the Long Island Rail Road tracks flooded and folks were navigating flooding levels they haven't seen in years.
"Literally within 10 minutes, boom," said Peter Rizik. "The water was just like a river coming down the block."
"This is the worst weather event we've had in 10 years, without a doubt," said Mayor Michael McGinty.
McGinty said it in no way compares to Superstorm Sandy, which inundated thousands of Long Island homes, but he said seeing streets impassible was a tough flashback. The next high tide is also a concern.
"The psyche of it. It's scary, scary for our residents," said McGinty.
Across Nassau County, more than 100 cars got stuck in flooded streets.
In Freeport, the morning high tide peaked around 7:30 a.m. Ron Williams saved his basement with three sump pumps.
"By 7 o'clock, I had a foot of water in my garage and the cars were all getting flooded," said Williams.
People who live in East Rockaway said the rain, wind and high tide came all at once, all of a sudden in the morning, leaving behind lots of damage.
"I feel like it was a flash flood," resident Janine Wayar said. "Basically I came out, water was just too late to move them."
Wayar said both of her daughters' cars got destroyed in the morning. CBS2 saw what they looked like after being submerged.
"Salt water ruined the engine. Electric started going on and off and the cars are totaled ruined," Wayar said.
She shared videos with CBS2. At one point, the water was so high a dumpster could be seen floating down the block.
"I pretty much started crying," Wayar said.
In Long Beach, bay waters flooded streets and made its way into some low-lying garages and ground floors.
"It comes with the territory of owning a house in Long Beach, we expect it. For this storm though, we weren't expecting a tidal surge," said Rich Bennis.
Many homes were elevated after Sandy, but not all.
"I'll raise the house five feet. I mean, I have nightmares about it," said Carol Harris.
As the water receded, the temperature dropped precipitously.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said a 30-degree plummet means drivers should stay off roads, which will be treacherous with black ice.
"There will be a significant amount of ice on the roads even though we're out salting and it will be a dangerous condition. So we're asking everybody to please stay home or stay local. Do not go out on the roads unless you have to," said Blakeman.
Saturday, Blakeman added, will be a much better day for last-minute shopping by mid-morning.
It remained brutally cold and windy outside late Friday night. Nassau County officials said that means there will continue to be power outages throughout the night.
According to PSEG Long Island, there are still thousands of customers without power.
