A home exploded in Hempstead on Wednesday. (Timothy Bolger/Long Island Press)

A house explosion rocked a Hempstead neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, collapsing the structure on itself and damaging two homes next door.

Hempstead village police and firefighters from surrounding areas responded to the scene on Perry Street near the corner of Cedar Street at about 2:30 p.m.

Officials at the scene said the house appears to have been vacant at the time but are searching the rubble to be sure.

“I thought a car hit my house,” said Joseph Berrouet, 65, who was awakened when he felt his home rattle a block away. “It was a terrible noise.”

A National Grid spokeswoman told reporters that the initial investigation revealed no signs of a gas leak, although neighbors reportedly smelled gas in the days leading up to the blast.

The Nassau County Fire Marshall’s investigators are continuing the probe while construction equipment was brought in to sift through the debris.

Glen Cove resident clearing snow after blizzard pounds Long Island. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

More than half of the 40,000 Long Island Power Authority customers who lost power due to the winter storm had their electricity restored early Saturday afternoon, officials said.

National Grid, which took over storm response from LIPA, said Saturday that as of 1 p.m. 29,000 ratepayers had their power restored and 94 percent of those restored were back in line within four hours of going in the dark.

As of 2:30 p.m. there were still 9,000 homes and businesses without power, LIPA reported on its website. National Grid said those customers should expect to have their power back within 24 hours, an estimate that the utility made Friday as they were prepping crews for the storm.

The large amount of snowfall—up to 30 inches on the Island—has made some roadways impassable, the utility said. Some crews won’t be able to access certain job sites until the roads are cleared and deemed safe.

“National Grid continues to coordinate with town, county, and state officials and remains ready to assign repair crews to any inaccessible outages as soon as roadways have been cleared and access is available,” National Grid said.

But the utility warned that outages are still possible because heavy snow on trees are capable of downing wires and damaging electrical facilities.

“Our pre-planning has us well positioned to respond to any additional outages and we will continue to monitor any changing conditions and openly communicate our progress,” National Grid said.

The electric grid fared well during the storm, the utility noted, and outages came in far below the estimate of 100,000 customers losing power that National Grid predicted Friday.

Cars covered in Locust Valley after Blizzard rolls through Long Island. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

Long Islanders woke up Saturday to a mound of snow on their front yards, their cars swallowed by a white blanket and streets barely drivable as a powerful Nor’easter swooped in and dropped up to 30 inches of snow on the Island.

While many residents will have hours of shoveling ahead after the blizzard, most will be able to fire up some hot chocolate and huddle up next to their television screens because while this massive storm packed a punch, it didn’t come close to National Grid’s estimate of 100,000 customers losing power. In fact, as of 9 a.m., the total was a little less than 11,000 people in the dark.

But the storm was dangerous.

All major highways in Suffolk County had to be shut down to all non-emergency vehicles, including the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Southern State, Northern State, Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow, Robert Moses Causeway, and Ocean Parkway.

There have been reports of abandoned vehicles throughout Suffolk County, making it difficult for emergency crews to plow roads and make roads passable.

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A blizzard warning remains in effect in Suffolk County until noon Saturday.

The blizzard—dubbed Nemo by The Weather Channel—dealt a blow to public transportation as well, forcing the Long Island Rail Road to suspend service on five of its branches—Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk and Oyster Bay—and limiting service on all others.

Those traveling by air also saw flight cancellations across all New York airports Friday evening. Flights at Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport are not scheduled to resume until 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

It was apparent Saturday morning that Suffolk County took the brunt of the storm.

The Nor’easter walloped communities from Lindenhurst to Upton, blasting at least 15 areas with more than 20 inches of snow. The National Weather Service reported that Upton saw 30.3 inches. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

Accumulation in Nassau barely reached the one-foot mark, the weather service reported. Bayville, Wantagh and Albertson were hit with more than 11 inches, while people in Seaford, New Hyde Park and Carle Place are likely mocking the storm as a bust after less than four inches fell on them. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

The storm also spawned whipping winds that contributed to outages and sent snow sideways making it difficult to walk at times. Strong winds—gusts were measured at more than 40 mph throughout the Island—also contributed to whiteout conditions making driving nearly impossible Friday evening.

Traffic was at a snail-like place and drivers reported excruciating travel times across all major roadways. On the Northern State Parkway Friday night, traffic was moving so slow that drivers were cleaning off their cars as they drove because snow was building up quickly. Some had to pull over under an overpass to move heavy snow off their cars.

The powerful storm forced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare state of emergencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties Friday night.

Many of the outages are in the Town of Brookhaven, LIPA reported on its website, with more than 4,000 residents without power.

Two towns—Babylon and Islip—reported less than 100 customers without power.

Police and other local officials are urging drivers to stay off the roadways so crews can plow through the heavy snow. Drivers in Suffolk are told to use other roads since all major highways in the county are closed. It’s not yet clear when the highways will reopen.

LIPA crews during Superstorm Sandy

In National Gird’s first public remarks since taking over communication and storm restoration duties from LIPA, one of the utility’s top officials said most outages from Friday’s Nor’easter should be restored within 24 hours.

John Bruckner, president of Long Island Transmission and Distribution for National Grid, said he estimates more than 100,000 Long Island Power Authority customers to lose power during the winter storm, which is expected to create Blizzard-like conditions that will pound the Island with more than one foot of snow.

National Grid has secured more than 100 tree trimmers, 700 high-voltage lineman and 250 tree trimmers. In total, the utility said it has more than 5,000 people working on the storm.

Bruckner, who led the press conference in Bethpage with LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Taunton at his side, said customers who report outages should have power restored within 24 hours. Essentially, he said, if customers lose power Saturday morning they should expect it to return the next day.

Crews, Bruckner said, will hit communities with the largest amount of outages first and then work its way down.

National Grid announced Thursday that LIPA, the embattled utility that received strong criticism for its response to Superstorm Sandy three months ago, would not handle communications and response duties during the winter storm.

Despite the rare shift, Taunton maintained that LIPA will still be assisting restoration efforts.

“Our role here is no different in respect to any other storm,” he said, adding that LIPA will continue to provide oversight and resources that are necessary to assist National Grid, LIPA’s outgoing contractor.

Beginning next year, National Grid, which runs LIPA’s electric grid, will be replaced by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG).

Bruckner addressed National Grid’s motivation to quickly restore power despite its impending departure by noting that its gas company will continue to serve Long Island long after it gives up the electric grid.

Bruckner said he’s confident that National Grid will be able to restore power quickly because it has secured all resources before the storm hit, apparently something LIPA was unable to do before Sandy struck despite advanced warning.

The utility’s biggest concern is the wind, which can caused downed trees and power lines.

The National Weather Service said Nassau and Suffolk Counties could get hit with up to 20 inches of snow. The storms biggest impact will occur between 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, the weather service noted. The agency is also expecting sustained winds of 30 mph and wind gusts reaching 60 mph.