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Heavy Wet Snow Gives Plow Drivers And Residents Fits On Long Island

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Several Long Island towns got almost a foot of snow giving some people an early start to the weekend.

As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, mother nature seemed to playing catch up, belting Long Island with wet, heavy snow through much of the day.

Parts of Long Island and Connecticut were under a winter storm warning until 3 p.m. A winter weather advisory that was issued for parts of New Jersey, the lower Hudson Valley and New York City has also expired.

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Clouds gave way to clear skies over Manhattan around noon. Between 2 and 4 inches of snow fell in New York City and its northern suburbs, CBS2's John Elliot reported.

Live inside a snow plow! Town of Huntington with @anthonynieves look still snowing bad CBS New York

Posted by Carolyn Gusoff on Friday, February 5, 2016

The village of Huntington had been all but shut down with stores closed by all but the heartiest of merchants.

"It was a little more than I expected but I drive safe, drive slow," Optician, Gregg Leonardi said.

There were a few determined customers on the road too.

"I called my sister and said, 'you think I should get my hair cut today?' She said, 'why not?'" Linda Lowell said.

Long Island  bore the brunt of the storm, with snow blanketing homes and streets, and making driving especially difficult and dangerous, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.

"I didn't think it was going to snow this much. It's crazy out," said Nick Fasano, of Franklin Square. "It's pretty bad; it's very slippery out. I couldn't really stop that much. The roads are slushy . It's not a good day to be driving."

"The main roads are pretty good but the secondary roads are definitely -- you can barely see the lines," one driver told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.

Conditions made a tough go for Huntington snow plow drivers who found the storm unexpectedly intensifying as they clocked among the highest snow totals.

"It's just think, heavy, accumulates heavy so as you make a pass down one side of the street the other side is covered again," plow driver Anthony Nieves said.

There have been several dozen accidents on Long Island, including a tractor-trailer that flipped over on Route 135, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported.

The treacherous conditions caused many school districts across Nassau and Suffolk counties to cancel classes.

For those commuting into work Friday morning, many said taking the train was a better option.

"The commute was pretty good. The train ran fine, but the roads were terrible. I had to get to Ronkonkoma station and the roads were horrendous," said John Grassi.

"The driving was pretty rough, but the railroad seems to be fine," said another commuter.

The LIRR operated with scattered delays for the morning rush. Most trains were on or close to schedule at the Mineola LIRR station.

In New York City, alternate-side parking rules have been suspended for Friday but parking meter payment will remain in effect.

As Long Islanders dig out from the storm experts are reminding residents to push instead of lifting the snow, especially when dealing with this kind of heavy, wet and what some call heart attack snow, WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reported.

Stacy, of Commack, was out shoveling. She said she has two really good reasons to remove snow safely.

"I have two little kids over there, I don't need one of those (heart attack)," she said.

Falling short of the blizzard, the snow came as a pleasant surprise for many especially Long Island school kids who got their first official snow day. Although some found themselves busy shoveling.

"It's bitter sweet. No school, but you have to do this all day because the snow just kept coming and coming and coming," 11th grader Michael Porter said.

During the blizzard in January, three Long Islanders died while shoveling snow.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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