February Blizzard Paralyzes South Fork

Power was interrupted to some 1,400 customers in East Hampton Town by an intense winter storm that hit the region beginning late Friday.

The Long Island Power Authority Storm Center reported that Montauk had approximately 600 houses and businesses without power and Springs had some 320 without electricity. About 730 customers were without power in Southampton Town.

Snowfall totals early Saturday ranged from six inches along Gardiner's Bay in Amagansett to eight inches in Bridgehampton. Western Suffolk was harder hit, with accumulation of more than 28 inches in East Setauket and 24 inches in Stony Brook.

Top wind gusts recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were 56 knots (64 miles per hour) shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday at an unmanned weather station 23 miles south-southwest of Montauk Point. The highest recorded seas reached more than 23 feet at about 11 p.m. on Friday.

East Hampton Town and Village and the Town of Southampton declared snow emergencies effective until at least midday on Saturday. Nonemergency travel remained prohibited.

East Hampton Town Highway Superintendent Steve Lynch, reached by phone early Saturday, said that the state of emergency remained in effect.

"The roads are a mess right now," Mr. Lynch said. "We had all the roads cleared and then we got dumped with another eight inches of snow. And we are out doing what we can; they are slippery underneath. A lot of trees down . . . and a lot of power outages."

"We are hoping to have everything cleared up by 4 or 5 this afternoon," he said.

Mr. Lynch said that East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson ordered the closing of the town landfill and that its employees where helping the Highway Department clear roads.

Storm in photos: