2014 ending on cold note on Long Island

As the clock ticks down to New Year's Eve, bundle-up weather is arriving on Long Island, with wind chills Tuesday making it feel like the upper teens to mid-20s, forecasters say.

The last two days of the year "will certainly feel more like late December and early January than what we have seen over the last several days with well above average temperatures," said the National Weather Service in a Facebook post on Monday.

Although a "thinning cloud deck" Tuesday afternoon is expected to result in "filtered sunshine" and highs in the mid-30s, winds of around 10 to 13 mph will make it feel much colder, said Tim Morrin, National Weather Service meteorologist based in Upton.

On Wednesday, the last day of the year, more sun is in the forecast, but a "modified Arctic air mass will still be moving into the area," Morrin said, so despite the sun, "temperatures are not expected to reach freezing." Add wind chill and the feel-like temperature is expected to be around 15 to 20 degrees.

As for New Year's Eve, skies are expected to be mostly clear with no precipitation in sight, forecasters say. At Times Square ball-drop time the temperature and wind chill in midtown Manhattan are forecast for 27 and 17 degrees, respectively, Morrin said. On Long Island, make that 25 and 14 degrees.

Look for continued dry, sunny skies on New Year's Day with highs of around 35 on Long Island, but similar winds will result in a chilling effect, Morrin said. Friday is expected to be more moderate -- mostly sunny with highs around 38, he said.

The weekend, though, brings the first chance for precipitation, likely Saturday night, which for Long Island means a possible brief period of snow or wintry mix, quickly changing to rain. While details are still evolving and it's too soon to make a call on amounts, "it has the potential to be a soaker," Morrin said, meaning the possibility of "several hours of some moderate rainfall."