Forecasters say no ducking the big one this time

It's getting bad - and it's going to get worse.

By 9 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service had reported 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground across the Island, with "freezing fog" making for bad travel.

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The storm is expected to dump 10 to 16 inches here before it's all over, the National Weather Service said.

Spared days ago when a monstrous storm smothered much of the mid-Atlantic states, it seems there will be no reprieve for Long Island this time around.

Early morning snow that complicated a lighter-than-normal morning commute was expected to become a full-out blizzard by midafternoon.

"This is the front end of the system," meteorologist Ross Dickman said. "The most significant part of the storm will come this afternoon," with the worst after 2 or 3 p.m., he said.

Forecasters are calling for one to two inches of snow per hour, which could mix with sleet throughout the morning, forecasters said.

A high of 36 degrees was expected Wednesday, with lows in the mid-20s Wednesday night.

The service issued a rare blizzard warning for Long Island at 3:40 a.m. Wednesday - and said it would remain in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday. Snow was predicted to continue into Thursday morning.

Forecasters warned of "severe winter weather conditions" Wednesday afternoon, with wind gusts of up to 40 mph. Downed trees, tree limbs and power lines and white-out conditions could make travel "extremely dangerous," they said.

Conditions on major highways had begun to deteriorate by 5 a.m. with a thin layer of slush and ice, even in the main lanes of the Long Island Expressway in Nassau and Suffolk.

The Long Island Rail Road had no reported delays as of 9 a.m. However, the railroad has announced it will suspend service if accumulations reach 10 to 13 inches.

All flights at Long Island-MacArthur Airport were canceled Wednesday. Dozens of arrivals and departures at Kennedy and LaGuardia were also canceled. Expect most flights throughout the day to be canceled as conditions deteriorate.

Which, no doubt, is why the Weather Service had this bit of advice: "Do not travel."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged drivers to leave their cars at home, warning they could become stranded or get into accidents. And then they'd end up saying of Bloomberg: "I should have listened to that guy," he said.

Forecasters were calling for a partly sunny day Thursday, but said we can expect stiff winds of 17 mph to 20 mph.

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