Light snow today, but worse storm in forecast

A dusting of early morning snow that caused a flurry of accidents and delays for Long Island drivers Wednesday may be just the precursor to a more snow later this week.

A driver who crashed into a tree in Melville died, though it was unclear if that accident was related to slippery roads.

READ: Fatal accident in Melville closes part of road

According to Suffolk police, the Melville fatality happened at about 6:45 a.m., when a driver smashed into a tree on Ruland Road, between Pinelawn Road and Route 110.

Police closed Ruland Road in both directions between Maxess Road and Deshon Drive.

Later in the week, there's the likelihood of heavier snow. Chances of precipitation are at 50 percent on Friday and 80 percent on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Some East End school districts delayed openings Wednesday, including Amagansett, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Port Jefferson, Sagaponack and Wainscott Common.

Traffic was heavy westbound on the Long Island Expressway between Exits 62 and 57 and the westbound Northern State Parkway between Exit 41, Wolf Hill Road, and Exit 40, Route 110. Traffic was slow, with delays of up to six minutes, into Route 106/107 and Exit 28, Willis Avenue.

On the LIE, other westbound delays were reported at Exit 39, Glen Cove Road, and Exit 36, Searingtown Road.

Most reports involved spinouts and skidding on secondary roads, including Station Road and Beaver Dam Road in North Bellport.

Some icing of roads was reported in East Northport, at Norwood Road and Route 25A.

Also, reports said westbound Sunrise Highway had heavy traffic at about 8 a.m. between Exit 48, Lakeland Avenue, and Connetquot Avenue.

There were also delays in New York City tunnels and on bridges.

According to the National Weather Service in Upton, light snow will likely continue to fall until noon. However, afternoon temperatures in the high 30s will probably melt most snow, making roads relatively clear.

Total daytime accumulation is expected to be less than one inch, according to the service.

The snow came overnight, courtesy of a strong low-pressure system. The system was expected to pull moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and scatter snowfall over some of the mid-Atlantic states.