MELVILLE, N.Y. _ Hurricane Jose is about 500 miles south of Montauk but across Long Island, officials are preparing for what meteorologists say will be a glancing blow.
Effects of the storm are already being felt after Monday morning's high tide brought flooding to Fire Island and Atlantic Ocean beaches.
"We've seen extensive flooding throughout Long Island state park beaches," said George Gorman, state parks deputy regional director for Long Island. "Hither Hills and the Montauk area is getting the worst of it right now."
Early Monday, crews removed all lifeguard shacks, storage and stations from Jones Beach and efforts were underway to place sand bags around vulnerable buildings at the barrier island beach.
At state parks in Montauk, 6- to 8-foot waves were crashing against the dunes, causing extensive flooding. Robert Moses and Jones Beach also saw flooding.
Fire Island National Seashore Chief Ranger John Stewart said rangers were out on the barrier island park, reporting on conditions and advising people to be safe.
Flooding could be seen from Robert Moses to Sailors Haven Visitors Center. "We're seeing the beginning of coastal erosion," Stewart said.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Long Island area, with the worst of the rain, wind and flooding expected to hit the region late Tuesday into Wednesday.
Emergency officials and utilities have begun prepping.
PSEG Long Island, which sent crews and local contractors to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma, has been keeping a close eye on Jose for the past week, said Dan Eichhorn, vice president of customer services, who becomes president and chief operating officer on Oct. 2.
By Tuesday morning, Eichhorn said, "We'll be in full storm mode. We're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best."
The utility is preparing for the prospect of sustained winds and heavy rains, with up to 3 to 5 inches expected on the East End.
John O'Connell, vice president of transmission and distribution, said the utility has been working to secure more outside crews even as it calls employees and contractors back from Florida. "We feel we're in good shape," he said.
PSEG sent 30 of its own workers to Florida, all of whom began traveling back to Long Island over the weekend and should be back home Monday night and early Tuesday. In addition, some 240 contractors the utility had dispatched to Florida were also on their way back to help deal with Jose here. They should be back on the Island by Wednesday and Thursday, O'Connell said.
In addition, the company also has secured 85 workers from its sister utility _ PSE&G in New Jersey _ and another 200 line workers from a utility mutual aid network.
"We've covered the people who went to Florida and secured additional resources to deal with the impacts of the forecasted weather," O'Connell said.
Other preparations, including stockpiling fuel and supplies, had already begun from a period when Irma's track was uncertain, O'Connell said, and those preparations have been supplemented by additional checks and work.
"We did a pretty robust preparation for Irma," he said. "We are normally in pretty good shape, and we've done another quick check. We are in good shape for everything we need."
Southold Supervisor Scott Russell said officials are monitoring the forecast and the highway superintendent is starting to clean street drains "so they can have a greater capacity."
"The one thing we can't do right now is to overreact to the weather forecast," he said. "It's calling for 3 to 5 inches of rain, that's over several hours. A few weeks ago we had about 4 inches of rain in an hour."
Hempstead Town, meanwhile, was ensuring generators at its 15 senior centers were operational, removing town boats from the water and clearing storm drains.
"It is critical for all of us to have a hurricane preparedness plan, and to be ready when and if the storm arrives," Hempstead Supervisor Anthony J. Santino said in a news release.
