Heavy Snow — Northwest Suffolk, New York

2009-03-01 to 2009-03-02 · Northwest Suffolk, New York

Event narrative

A 57-year-old male was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on an icy road and was struck broadside by a van at approximately 2109 EST.

Wider weather episode

A coastal low pressure system along the Outer Banks of North Carolina Sunday evening, March 1, tracked northeast, to east of Long Island by Monday afternoon, March 2. At the same time, arctic high pressure, from the upper midwest to James Bay, was gradually building east. The two combined to produce a heavy snowfall event across the tri-state area with snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour during the pre-dawn hours of March 2. This was the biggest snowfall event of the winter season.

Snowfall amounts across southeast New York generally ranged from 7 to 12 inches, but as high as 16 inches across Suffolk county on eastern Long Island. The following are selected snowfall amounts across the area: 11.2 inches at Tuxedo in the Lower Hudson Valley, 13.0 inches at Great Kills on Staten Island, 8.0 incheas at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, and 15.7 inches at Mastic on eastern Long Island.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 162604. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.