Storm speeds up, LI snow totals go down
Snow is quickly accumulating Friday on East Main Street in Riverhead. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
The powerful post-Christmas snowstorm walloped Long Island and the entire downstate area, Friday evening into Saturday.
Parts of the region were expected to be buried in up to 8 inches of powder in one of the largest winter weather events in years, officials said. But as more sleet mixed in with the storm, which then picked up speed, snow totals were scaled back from the predicted totals late Friday night.
By the time the storm clears out — it's expected to taper off around 8 a.m. — parts of eastern Long Island could receive 4 to 8 inches of snow, according to Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.
Western Nassau, meanwhile, was expected to receive around 3 to 4 inches, with the heaviest accumulation occurring in the late evening, when snow could fall at rates of one to two inches an hour, officials said.
The snow totals, Engle said, declined significantly late Friday, as the storm picked up speed and moved through the region faster than anticipated. Initial Long Island forecasts has been calling for up to 10 inches and possibly a foot in some places.
Snowfall for New York City and parts of New Jersey were also expected to be less than originally forecast.
"The speed was a lot faster than the guidance has indicated," said Engle.
The highest snowfall total seen yet on Long Island was in West Nesconset, which reported 5.1 inches at 9:20 p.m. In Nassau, North Syosset got 2.3 inches, as of 8:30 p.m., according to the Weather Service.
Temperatures Saturday are expected to stay frigid in the low-to-mid 30s, before warming up slightly on Sunday with a dose of heavy rain.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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