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Update: Riverhead, Shoreham-Wading River schools closed Thursday

Update (March 22, 7:30 a.m.): The Riverhead School District decided to cancel classes Thursday, instead of having a two-hour delay as initially decided.

Bishop McGann – Mercy Diocesan High School, St. Isidore and St. David’s schools will also be closed.

The Shoreham-Wading River School District announced around 7 a.m. that it would be closed for the day due to unsafe road conditions.

Originally (March 22, 6:18 a.m.): Schools across most of the North Fork will have a two-hour delayed opening Thursday morning after the snowfall overnight and icy roads this morning.

The Riverhead School District, as well as Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School, St. David’s and St. Isidore in Riverhead announced the delayed start early Thursday morning.

Just before 7 a.m., the Shoreham-Wading River School District announced it was closing for the day due to unsafe conditions on the road.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith declared a winter storm event late Wednesday night, which means no parking is permitted on either side of the road. It was still in effect on Thursday morning.

Snow was still falling when school officials made their decision and a winter storm warning remains in effect until 8 a.m. The morning commute is expected to be difficult with low visibilities at times.

Riverhead officials asked that drivers slow down and use caution on icy roadways. “Roads are wet, slushy and slick in some spots,” the supervisor said in a statement at 6 a.m.

Icy roads Wednesday contributed to several crashes on the North Fork and many elsewhere on Long Island, including one fatal accident in Wantagh that is being attributed to the snow, according to Newsday.

Classes were canceled Wednesday in the Riverhead Central School District and at Bishop McGann-Mercy, while students at Shoreham-Wading River schools were let out of school early due to the forecast. However, the snow did not start until later than expected and the amount of snow that fell ended up being small in comparison to western Long Island.

Nearly a foot of snow fell in other parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties.

The National Weather Service reported that three inches of snow fell in Orient, while Jamesport got a little more than one-inch. Shoreham received five inches and Calverton got about four inches.

According to the National Weather Service, 14 inches was recorded at Islip Airport and 13 inches fell in Patchogue, while Yaphank got eight and a half inches.

The forecast calls for snow showers to taper off before 8 a.m. though there is a slight chance of snow between 8 and 10 a.m. After that, it will be cloudy with a high near 45.  It will remain breezy, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early.

Temperatures Thursday night will drop to a low around 22.

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