Winter Weather Advisory Remains In Effect As Round 2 Of Storm Continues
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A wintry mix of snow and rain fell Thursday night across the Tri-State Area during the second part of a winter storm that already brought lashing winds and flooding across the Jersey Shore and parts of Long Island.
A winter weather advisory remained in effect until noon Friday for southwest Connecticut, the lower Hudson Valley, northeast New Jersey, New York City and Nassau County.
After several hours of flurries, the region was seeing heavy snowfall in some areas Thursday night. In Westchester County, plows were hitting the streets. Along the Jersey Shore, streets were inundated with rising waters.
Some towns reported the worst flooding since Hurricane Sandy.
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CBS 2's Lonnie Quinn reported that as of 11 p.m. Newburgh had picked up 3 inches, while Kent Cliffs got 5.1 inches of snow and Armonk was hit with 5.4 inches off accumulation.
Quinn said that driving conditions could be tough for some parts of the Tri-State.
For New York City, Quinn said portions would see an inch or two while other parts could get 2-5 inches. Putnam County, which Quinn called the storm's "bulls eye," could see 4-8 inches.
The snow was also sticking out on Long Island on Thursday night.
"It turned into a nor'easter and spun around, now a big eye in Atlantic. I'm wondering if it's going to come back in," Sag Harbor homeowner Chris Perugi told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan.
Monica James and Amy Yarborough tried to escape their powerless Riverhead apartment near Atlantis Marine World, where flakes were falling fast.
"The winds are crazy out here. Last night, the power went out," James said.
"It's terrible out here, first of all and if it keeps getting worse and worse, everyone's going to be cooped in," said Yarborough.
And the storm was the last thing the Jersey Shore needed. The battered coast was seeing its worst flooding since Sandy.
In Sea Bright, the water flowed down streets and right up to homes. Water pumps were up and running to stem the tide
Earlier Thursday, crews built giant sand dunes on the beach, hoping to stop some of the water.
ROUND ONE IMPACT ON TRI-STATE
In Lindenhurst, Thursday morning's high tide caused some significant flooding along Venetian Boulevard where water was up to the doorsteps of some homes, 1010 WINS' Eileen Lehpamer reported.
"It's been like this for years," one man said. "When a storm comes in, it comes in the street."
WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported that one man's boat was no longer at its dock, but on it.
Flooding in Lindenhurst
South shore officials from Long Beach to Babylon were also on edge after just having rebuilt temporary dunes swept away by Sandy. In Long Beach the wall of sand was topped.
"Basically because of Sandy, if there's enough wind it could actually take the dunes away. You've got to watch the high tides with the flooding," said Kevin Walsh with Babylon Public Safety.
A blast of vicious wind took down a 40-foot tree in Baldwin. Barbara Leonard said she was home watching TV when she heard the crash.
"All at once the lights went out," she told CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff.
On Riviera Drive in Mastic Beach, the water was about knee-high and a couple from Florida had to be rescued from their car.
"The girl was pretty shooken up," Fire Chief Carlo Grover told WCBS 880 reporter Sophia Hall. "They had to wrap her up to bring her out because she couldn't move. They were upset. They didn't know how deep the water was, so they were afraid to walk any further. They weren't familiar with the area."
The chief said things could have been a lot worse if the department did not have rescue boats.
"The Zodiak's good. It's pretty much almost like a flat-bottomed boat with a small motor on it where we can actually walk it in or we can drive it in," Grover said. "In this case, we walked it in, put the two victims inside the boat, and then we walked it out."
Couple Rescued In Mastic Beach
The couple was treated at a local hospital for hypothermia.
In Freeport, the pre-dawn high tide brought canal waters streaming into streets.
In Connecticut, dozens of car crashes were reported across the state on Thursday.
The most serious accident was on Interstate 84 eastbound in Tolland, where a FedEx tractor-trailer overturned and caused a chain-reaction crash involving about nine other vehicles, including a state police cruiser and two more tractor-trailers, said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman.
Vance said slippery conditions on the hilly section of I-84 also led to a few other accidents on the highway in Tolland and Union.
The National Weather Service was predicting up to 7 inches of heavy, wet snow in Connecticut through Friday morning and wind gusts that could hit 50 mph, bringing possible power outages.
Storm Causes Flooding Along Jersey Shore
Parts of the Garden State had already been hit with powerful winds that whipped up the ocean, causing the morning high tide to flood roads in several shore communities.
Pounding surf from the latest storm broke through a temporary dune in Mantoloking, the Jersey shore town hardest-hit by Superstorm Sandy, during the early morning high tide.
Mantoloking Braces For Winter Storm
The breach sent water flowing through onto the highway, forcing officials to close a section of Route 35, from Herbert Street to the Bay Head border for eight hours. It was reopened shortly after 11 a.m. after front-end loaders and street sweepers cleared sand from the roadway.
Morning Tide Hits Dunes, Floods Route 35
Flooding also remained a problem in other shore towns, including Sea Bright, where firefighters extinguished a blaze in a vacant commercial building that was caused by a downed electrical line.
"We've had Nor'easters, but this is the most amount of water I've seen since Sandy," Office of Emergency Management coordinator Read Murphy told CBS 2's Kathryn Brown.
Storm Causes Flooding In Lindenhurst
Water on roadways also forced closures in Monmouth Beach, Absecon, Aberdeen, Egg Harbor Township and Wildwood.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, speaking from Robbinsville around noon on Thursday, said the state has avoided the kind of widespread flooding that was initially feared.
"So far, no major damage done," Christie told reporters including WCBS 880's Jim Smith.
Christie: Storm Not As Bad As Projected
Christie noted that some Sandy-battered Jersey Shore towns took a hit.
"I spoke to Mayor Long in Sea Bright this morning, had some flooding in Sea Bright. Spoke to folks in Mantoloking, had some flooding of Route 35 in Mantoloking but no damage to the roadway that is evident," Christie told Smith.
The storm also stretched inland. On Route 7 in Kearny, drivers tried to push through washed-out roads.
A coastal flood warning remains in effect until 9 a.m. Friday. Forecasters are predicting widespread minor areas of moderate tidal flooding during the time of high tide.
"Hopefully it's not going to be another setback," said Ocean resident Jamie Schultz. "I know the water looks pretty scary out there. It looks like it's rising but hopefully it will not do the damage that it did in the past."
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