A nor'easter announces itself over the water first — the Sound turns slate, the gulls go inland, and the low road toward Bayville starts to blow white. Islandwide Snow Removal, LLC is out in that: plowing drives, shoveling walks and steps, laying salt where the wind has scoured the surface down to glaze. Snow arriving off salt water is heavy and it refreezes hard, so timing counts as much as equipment does. The measure of a night like that is simple — a car backs out at dawn and nobody has to think twice. Then the sky scrubs itself clean and the whole north shore looks brand new for about a day.