No. 1 Top News Story: The Blizzard

A record-setting blizzard dumped more than two feet of snow on parts of Riverhead Town in February, shuttering businesses and schools, clogging roads and trapping some residents in their homes for days.

The nor’easter struck the night of Feb. 8 into that weekend, dumping the most snow on the west side of town. Baiting Hollow recorded the most snowfall with 26 inches, while downtown Riverhead endured more than a foot-and-a-half of snow.

Towns west of Riverhead fared even worse, with Brookhaven seeing more than 30 inches.

More than 100 people became trapped in their cars on the Long Island Expressway as the storm hit. Local firefighters, ambulance volunteers and police answered dozens of calls during the blizzard, and at least two police cars and an ambulance became trapped in the storm.

Town highway crews immediately got to work clearing roads, but the sheer volume of the snow slowed efforts.

Weather experts said the storm — which strengthened rapidly when two branches of the jet stream combined west of Long Island — will be remembered as one of the biggest blizzards to hit Long Island in recorded history.

Click here for a complete list of our 2013 top news stories.