As storm nears, Peconic River begins to overflow

Water from the Peconic River began to overflow its bank at around 5 p.m. Wednesday as the edge of a Nor’easter began to hit the area.

Officer Christopher James was monitoring the situation at 5:30 p.m. from his patrol car parked in the empty parking lot behind the former Swezey’s Department store in downtown Riverhead. He said that he noticed cars were having some difficulty going through the water in the roadway.

He noted that high tide in the area is at 8 p.m. and the town will probably shut the road down at 6 p.m.

The storm, which could dump as much as seven inches of snow, is expected to linger into Friday before clear skies return Saturday. Original forecasts called for as much as 10 inches, but the National Weather Service downgraded that number late Wednesday.