What to Know
- A man in his 50s died of an apparent heart attack while removing snow on Long Island as a beastly winter storm bore down Thursday
- No other deaths in the region have been blamed on the storm as of Friday afternoon
- A state of emergency remains in effect for the county as crews work to clear snow amid a freeze that has complicated cleanup regionally
A man died of a heart attack while removing snow on Long Island and a woman was also killed amid Thursday's monster winter storm, a windswept beast that dumped more than 16 inches on some Suffolk County communities, closed hundreds of schools across the region and prompted a state of emergency.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said 65-year-old Daniel Willis of Lindenhurst died from while removing snow. Police said Willis was the only person in the county whose death could be attributed to the snowstorm; the death of a woman in Islip wasn't classified as weather-related. A third person, a man, was initially reported dead from shoveling snow but police later said he survived.
A state of emergency that Gov. Cuomo called for Long Island, New York City and Westchester as the storm gained strength Thursday morning, remained in effect for Suffolk County Friday, Bellone said.
Bellone also urged drivers to stay off the roads if possible as crews worked to clear piles of snow amid a deep freeze that has complicated cleanup across the East Coast. Hundreds of schools remained closed Friday or had delayed openings, and alternate-side parking is suspended in the city through Saturday to facilitate cleanup efforts.
Other deaths in North Carolina, Massachusetts and elsewhere have been blamed on the storm that dumped more than a foot of snow across much of the Eastern seaboard.
Meteorologists are forecasting brutally cold wind-chills through the weekend and, according to Storm Team 4, the snow isn’t going anywhere soon. Strong wind gusts of 40 mph or more will lead to blowing and drifting snow and will send temperatures into the teens with feel-like temps even colder.
Wind chill warnings went into effect at 1 a.m. Friday for Pike, Sussex, Western Ulter and eastern Dutchess counties until Sunday morning, Storm Team 4 said. The rest of the tri-state is under a wind chill advisory.
In New York City, some areas, such as Queens, saw at least 13 inches of snow. Central Park got 9.8 inches, while JFK Airport saw 8 inches. Parts of southern New Jersey saw a foot and a half. Check the latest snow totals in your neighborhood here.
Relief from the frigid, snowy conditions may not come until at least Monday when the teeth-shattering cold eases a bit and the tri-state will see temperatures rise above the freezing mark for the first time in days.
