A whole inch of snow! Tuesday 'storm' aside, winter '08 has been a mixed blessing
By Gregory Zeller
February 15, 2008 | 04:33 PM If you're the superstitious sort, stop reading now. Even non-groundhogs know this has been a mild winter, at least in these parts. The Old Man has raged from the Northwest to the South, with record lows and blizzards and devastating tornados, and he hasn't exactly spared the Northeast, with snow falling by the foot on Massachusetts and points north. But for southern New York and especially Long Island, this has been The Winter Without Snow. Before you get all crazy with the global warming, consider a more cyclical cause. According to chief meteorologist Victor Cassella of Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, the culprit in this snowless caper is the periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean: Blame it on La Niña. "This is definitely a La Niña year," Cassella said, noting that a body of cold water — La Niña, El Niño's diametrically opposed cousin — has formed along the western Mexican coastline, shifting the North American jet stream and forming a high-pressure ridge over the center of the continent. That ridge has delivered oodles of nastiness to the Midwest, such as the Arctic blast that, according to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Minn., set 85 daily record lows this week in the Twin Cities. But the Northeast has basked in what Cassella called "a southerly flow," resulting in a relatively dry and mild season. And it has been exactly that on the Island, with under 4 inches of snow recorded at BNL since November, according to Cassella. That paltry total — accumulated over five "snow events," the meteorologist said — doesn't include this week's minor dustings: the brief squall that blew through Sunday and Tuesday's slightly more substantial event, which was quickly washed away by Wednesday's rains. With "no major cold push in sight, and no big storms in our near future," Long Island could be looking at record low snowfalls this winter, Cassella said. At least, the Island will struggle to reach last year's relatively low 9 1/2 inches, he said, even if 1997-98's record of 4 1/2 inches stands. That's fine with those tasked with keeping Island roads clear of winter messes. Gilbert Anderson, Suffolk County's public works commissioner, said Suffolk — which maintains 415 miles of county-owned roads and shares duties on some state stretches, such as the Sunrise Highway service roads — has more than 8,200 tons of sodium chloride, aka road salt, standing by in eight public works yards, and he's happy to leave them there. Anderson said he's spent only $200,000 of the county's $3.8 million snow removal budget for 2008, which includes next November and December. That's also about how much Brookhaven Town has spent on snow issues this season, according to Highway Superintendent John Rouse, out of a $4.5 million snow removal budget that covers overtime for municipal employees, the hiring of independent contractors and materials. In Huntington, where about $2.9 million has been budgeted for calendar 2008 snow removal, Highway Superintendent William Naughton is sitting on 3,500 tons of salt and 18,000 tons of salt/sand mix. He's barely scratched the surface of those town stores, with "a little bit of work on bridges and some concrete surfaces," and Naughton considers that a mixed blessing. "There are a lot of businesses affected by not having any snow," he said. "Retail businesses in the private sector, and the contractors." Smithtown Highway Superintendent Dan Ryan is also bittersweet about this virtually snowless winter. As a highway man, he's happy to tango with La Niña, but he can't ignore the effect on his employees. "The workforce gets accustomed to having overtime [pay] in bad winters," Ryan said. "They bring that in as a regular part of their income. This is troublesome for them, especially in these economic times, with the worker struggling to make ends meet. And in that way, it's troublesome for me." The mild winter has also underscored an ongoing debate over the way Smithtown budgets for snow removal. In 2008, for the first time, the town has budgeted no money specifically for snow removal overtime hours, creating instead a contingency fund to be accessed only if such hours are accrued. That $667,000 contingency fund is standing by, Ryan said, as is a separate $350,000 fund for private plow operators, not to mention about 3,100 tons of salt and sand. Despite certain ancillary concerns, most highway officials agree no snow is good news. Rouse noted the mild winter has "freed up my troops to get a head start on our spring paving program," while Anderson said the leftover salt and sand will keep just fine in shelters over the summer, cutting down on 2009 expenses. And to a man, they'll all take this over the other extreme. Naughton, in his 21st year as Huntington superintendent, still remembers that 12-incher on his very first day; Rouse, now in his fifth year as Brookhaven's highway man, points to the days preceding St. Patrick's Day 2005. Weather forecasters "completely blew the forecast," he said, and with North Shore communities from Miller Place to Rocky Point preparing for their annual Friends of St. Patrick parade, two snowstorms hit within three days. It all worked out in the end, Rouse noted, with his workers not only plowing Brookhaven's roads but making sure the Route 25A parade route was clear. But given the choice between that and winter 2008, "I'll take this," Rouse said. Still, nobody's taking this season lightly, not yet. Brookhaven was "walloped" by ice storms last February, Rouse noted, and Cassella pointed out that, La Niña notwithstanding, a big snow "can happen anytime on Long Island," such as the April 1996 snowstorm that dumped about a foot across Suffolk. "We're still four to six weeks away from spring," Naughton noted. "I'm not too confident that we won't get snow at some point."