The snowstorm, which reached Long Island's north shore on Friday, Dec. 5, took local residents and municipalities by surprise, although in most cases, they managed to cope with the results. Hardest hit were the county roads which, due to a combination of vehicles spinning out of control and tying up traffic, as well as the normal slowdown during a snowstorm, made traveling most difficult. Drivers took as long as two hours driving a single mile on Northern Boulevard between Searingtown Road/Port Washington Boulevard and Shelter Rock Road. School buses from both the Port Washington School District and the Manhasset School District experienced unprecedented delays as the children boarded the buses just as the storm was building up.

The Town of North Hempstead and the local villages report no extraordinary problems, although both the village clerks of Munsey Park and Plandome say "lots of overtime" was racked up. Plandome Village Clerk Tim Rice said that Plandome's highway staff started plowing and sanding early, not knowing how long the snow would last. Munsey Park Deputy Clerk Lee Regan said that the village's maintenance staff "was fantastic, as usual. They put in a lot of overtime, but they just dealt with it."