Winter storm watch for Long Island Sunday with up to 6 inches predicted
So much for escaping winter without a real winter snowstorm.
Fresh on the heels of Saturday morning's snowstorm, a winter storm watch is in effect for Long Island from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning, with 4 to 6 more inches of accumulation possible. Higher amounts are expected in northeastern Nassau, according to the National Weather Service.
"Plan on slippery road conditions" as moderate to heavy wet snow falls, the weather service said.
The forecast calls for daytime temperatures in the low 40s with a mix of rain and snow beginning around 7 p.m. Sunday and changing to all snow by around 9 p.m., said Weather Service meteorologist James Connolly. The snow could fall at a rate of up to an inch per hour in some areas, the weather service said in a Saturday evening advisory.
Visibility for motorists will be limited to a quarter-mile or less at times, and scattered power outages and downed tree limbs are possible due to heavy, wet snow, the advisory said.
A potential track heading closer to the coast could result in more mixing and lower snow totals in coastal communities, while inland areas would experience higher amounts, the weather service said. But a track slightly farther south could result in the higher snow total near the coast, the advisory said.
The good news? The storm is expected to let up around daybreak Monday.
“This will be a bigger storm," said Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist with the weather service. "The question, though, is we’re not really sure how much rain mixes in."
He added that the snow “should have some impact on the Monday morning commute."
News 12 Long Island meteorologist Pat Cavlin predicted potentially higher amounts — as much as 8 inches on some parts of Long Island.
It would be the second round of snow this weekend, after December, January and February saw relatively little powder.
Up to 5 inches of snow blanketed parts of Long Island Saturday morning with 1.9 inches falling at Long Island MacArthur Airport in the Town of Islip, Connolly said.
Nassau and Suffolk police said they had no reports of serious motor vehicle crashes or incidents as a result of the snow.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
