LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — Mother Nature battered Long Island Tuesday with heavy rain, winds and coastal flooding, and the area was still struggling to dry out Wednesday, with many roads still flooded and beaches closed.
According to Nelson Vaz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton office, areas across Long Island with poor drainage were affected, with coastal flooding an issue along the ocean beaches. Coastal areas were “hit hard,” he said, with high waves and water levels, dune impacts and flooding, he said. “We still have a sense of how hard the dunes were hit,” he said.
Vaz added that the South Shore of Long Island, from the southern parts of Nassau eastward to Mastic and areas along the Great South Bay, exceeded the major flood mark. These areas saw 2 to 2.5 feet of water above the ground, with 3 feet reported locally in some areas.
“Fire Island is devastated,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico. “Preliminary reports indicate Fire Island Pine as the hardest hit community. Places where there were significant dunes are now completely gone. Water is literally coming up to homes now.”
In all, Long Island saw about 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain, he said. Wednesday's high tide is slowly receding, but there are still areas of increased flooding, he said.
Waterfront areas in the East End were severely affected by flooding on major roads and beach erosion.
“Thankfully, there was no loss of life,” Vaz said.
Temperatures on Wednesday are expected to stay in the low 50s and drop into the upper 40s. Long Island will dry out the rest of the week, but Friday night into Saturday morning, expect another 1 to 2 inches of rain, with moderate to major coastal flooding and wind gusts as another storm moves through, he said.
