Long Island weather: Cold air, and a couple chances of snow, move in

A wintry blast Friday night comes ahead of two chances for snow in the next few days, one slight and one strong, the National Weather Service said.

Nighttime lows in the 20s Friday will actually feel more like 5 to 10 degrees due to wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph, said meteorologist Peter Wichrowski at the service's Upton office.

The weekend should be sunny and cold, with highs in the mid-30s feeling more like they are in the 10-to-20 degree range, again due to winds, forecasters said.

Sunday overnight, there's a chance snow, forecasters said. "It wouldn't amount to much, maybe a light coating," Wichrowski said. 

Then Monday overnight, there's a stronger chance of snow, officials said. This would affect the Tuesday morning commute if the snow has time to accumulate before warmer air moves in and changes the precipitation into rain or perhaps a brief mix of rain and sleet in the afternoon, the meteorologist said. 

"As the day progresses, mostly likely for Long Island you see a changeover to rain," Wichrowski said.

As for how many inches of snow, meteorologists said it's too early to tell and depends on how long it takes rising temperatures to have an impact. "There could be several inches before turnover or we could see very little accumulation before changeover," Wichrowski said.

The forecast called for a Monday high of 38, a nighttime low of 24, a Tuesday high of 35, and a low that night of 33.

With Chau Lam