Long Island forecast: No snow but more bitter cold
Neither snow, nor cold, nor strong winds stopped a runner from getting a workout in at Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park on Saturday morning. Credit: Joseph Sperber
A winter storm dumped as much as 7 inches of snow on parts of the East End on Saturday, though other parts of Long Island were spared from large snow accumulation, according to the National Weather Service.
Montauk received 7.3 inches, the weather service said. Sag Harbor got 4.5 inches of snow, North Sea had 4 inches and Orient recorded 2.5 inches. Areas west of Great Peconic Bay saw less than 2 inches of snow, with accumulations falling further westward.
Weather service meteorologist Jim Connolly said wind gusts were more than 40 mph Saturday.
While no snow is forecast for Sunday, strong winds and dangerously cold temperatures will continue to make travel hazardous across eastern Long Island, he said.
High temperatures Sunday on Long Island are forecast to reach only the upper teens, he said, while wind chills will bring temperatures below zero most of the day.
An extreme cold warning remains in effect until 1 p.m. Sunday.
Early morning wind chills could be close to minus 20 degrees, according to Connolly. Winds are expected to gust around 30 mph through Sunday before diminishing later in the day and at night, he said.
The Saturday wind chill map from the National Weather Service. Credit: NOAA
Connolly urged residents to take precautions if they venture out.
“It’ll be cold, so make sure people are dressed appropriately,” he said. “There may be some trouble spots on area roads, especially on the [East End], where the winds will continue to blow off those farms and create some areas of blowing snow.”
Blowing and drifting snow can quickly reduce visibility, especially along open stretches of roadway bordered by fields, even after the main snowfall has ended.
The start of the new workweek Monday is expected to be a bit warmer on Long Island with a high temperature of about 29 degrees, but with winds of 7 to 10 mph, the wind chill values will be between minus 5 and 5 degrees, according to the weather service.
Warming centers across the Island offer options for those without heat or shelter. The Nassau County warming space, on Old Country Road in Westbury, is activated when the wind chill is at 32 degrees or below for two consecutive hours or more.
Throughout Suffolk County, various public libraries, senior centers and the Dix Hills Ice Rink will serve as warming centers "during excessive cold conditions," according to the county's website. Before traveling to any site, county officials recommend calling to make sure the center is open.
The Nassau County SPCA is advising pet owners to keep their animals inside this weekend due to the extreme cold.
Newsday’s Sam Kmack contributed to this story.
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'It's definitely a destination' NewsdayTV's Doug Geed takes us "Out East," and shows us the Long Island Aquarium, a comfort food restaurant in Baiting Hollow, a Riverhead greenhouse and Albert Einstein's connections to the East End.
