The Suffolk County executive and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said Friday they would sign executive orders declaring states of emergency at the end of a joint press conference on a nor'easter expected to bring heavy rain, high winds and coastal flooding to Long Island starting Friday evening and continuing into Sunday.
The Suffolk County executive said the storm would bring "a serious rain event, probably four to five inches, that will create local flooding in low-lying areas," along with wind gusts up to 50 mph or higher that could topple trees and power lines. He said he had already sent drones up to document conditions before the storm so the county could seek state and federal aid afterward.
Blakeman described the storm as being "on the higher end of a nor'easter," with sustained winds of 30 to 35 mph and gusts exceeding 50 mph continuing through Sunday and into Monday. He said Nassau's primary concern was the south shore from Atlantic Beach through East Rockaway to Massapequa, with additional risk in Long Beach, Lido Beach and Freeport, and some residual impact expected on the north shore in Port Washington and Bayville.
Blakeman said high tide would hit Nassau at 8 a.m. Saturday and again at 8 p.m., with a full moon raising the risk of flooding if the first high tide had not fully receded by the second. "If you don't have to go out, stay off the road," he said, urging residents to charge phones, keep flashlights ready, avoid candles and move electric vehicles out of low-lying garages.
Blakeman announced he was canceling Saturday's Long Island Fair activities and all outdoor permits for Saturday, saying a decision on Sunday's fair events would come later. He also said Nassau Community College would be used to shelter evacuees if evacuations become necessary, and the former family courthouse in Westbury would house homeless residents needing shelter.
The Suffolk County executive said an evacuation of Fire Island had not been ordered but was under consideration, with ocean waves expected to reach 8 to 12 feet. "If you're on Fire Island, have a plan, because I'd leave now," he said. He added that ferry service from Orient Point to Connecticut had already stopped and that ferries to Fire Island and Port Jefferson were expected to be suspended as the storm approached.
A Nassau County police official said officers would go door to door in flood zones if an evacuation is ordered. "If you do live in the flood zone and if there is an evacuation that goes into place in Nassau County we will be going door-to-door with the fire service to give you that warning that you have to get out," the official said.
Suffolk's fire, rescue and emergency services commissioner said the county's emergency operations center was activated at 11 a.m. Friday and would remain active through the weekend, monitoring four high-tide cycles and warning of one to two feet of water above ground level, with up to three feet possible in southwest Suffolk communities including Lindenhurst and Babylon.