Riverhead cleans up after ‘tornado-like’ storm slams East End
Riverhead’s Fourth of July fireworks show Saturday night was no match for the lightning that followed, as a fast-moving storm with wind gusts as high as 84 mph tore across the East End after days of blistering heat.
Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said the storm hit “like a tornado,” which sent crowds at the town’s anticipated 250th anniversary fireworks celebration at South Jamesport Beach scrambling for cover before leaving roads blocked by downed trees, limbs, wires and parked cars.
“I deem it to be like a tornado; it was high winds, heavy rain, all at once,” Mr. Zaleski told Riverhead News-Review on Monday.
By the time the sun rose to gloomy skies Sunday, Riverhead roads were littered with roughly tons of downed trees and large limbs, forcing the highway department to work all day to clear the debris.
“We were just keeping the roads open, pushing trees off the road, large limbs, and a lot of wires were down, which really hinders the work,” Mr. Zaleski said.
Riverhead streets were littered with roughly 50 downed trees and large limbs as a result of the heavy winds and rain that began Saturday night, forcing the highway department to work into the early morning to try to clear them all.
Ostrander Avenue and Howell Avenue were closed Sunday due to large trees and wires lying across the road. Police vehicles were also stationed at the intersection of Ostrander Avenue and County Road 58 on Monday morning because the traffic light was not working.
The highway department cannot touch anything when wires are tangled in trees until they are deactivated.
“This is a small taste, as bad as this was, of what a hurricane could be,” Mr. Zaleski said. “The only thing we can do as a town, and even as a homeowner, is prepare. Make sure your saws are ready, trim back your yards. Keep everything as ready as possible.”
A flood advisory remains in effect until late Monday night as torrential storms are expected to continue to hit the East End with up to four inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Flooding remains a risk in urban areas, along rivers, creeks and streams, and in other low-lying and flood-prone locations, Riverhead police said. Baiting Hollow and Wading River have been among the hardest-hit hamlets, with several downed trees snagging power lines.
“Downed wires should always be considered ‘live,'” PSEG said in a release Monday. “Stay as far away as possible from them, and if possible keep others, children, and pets away from the wire. Do not drive over or stand near any downed wire.”
PSEG crews have restored power to more than 34,800 customers since Saturday night. There were still nearly 50 outages from Wading River to Riverhead as of early Monday afternoon. Tree crews have handled nearly 400 downed trees and more than 320 fallen limbs.
Riverhead Fire Department also responded to 22 calls during the storm.
Southold Town saw less severe damage, though highway crews there were still clearing debris Monday after trees, limbs and wires came down across several hamlets.
The hamlets of Laurel, Mattituck and Cutchogue were the hardest hit in the Town of Southold. Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin said roughly a dozen trees were downed, with large amounts of broken limbs, wires and branches on the ground.
Route 25 in Mattituck — between New Suffolk Avenue and Wickham Avenue — and westbound Route 48 in Mattituck, between Alvahs Lane and Elijahs Lane, were closed late Saturday night due to downed wires. Westbound traffic on Route 25 in Cutchogue was also detoured onto Skunk Lane late Saturday.
“As far as the working conditions, that’s definitely something you have to be very mindful of, especially with a storm like Saturday,” Mr. Goodwin said. “With it being the Fourth of July, there were a lot of people out on the road, so there’s a lot of hazards that exist out there.”
Southold crews started going out around 9 p.m. on Saturday to clear the first few trees that had fallen, and stayed out until about 4 a.m.
“We’re in good shape today. We’re just going around picking up additional debris. We have some additional trees that we need to go back to to finish taking them down the rest of the way,” Mr. Goodwin said.
He estimated the cleanup cost at about $10,000, including overtime, fuel and equipment.
Mr. Goodwin also said the department had to wait nearly a day before PSEG crews arrived to deactivate some of the downed wires.
There were about five outages across the Town of Southold as of Monday afternoon.
To report an outage or downed wire, call PSEG Long Island at (800) 490-0075.
