Mild start, cold end to week on Long Island, forecasters say
Cold front may bring LI's first snow later in week. Credit: Weather Underground
A mild Monday marked the start of the week but colder temperatures from an Arctic blast threatens an icy mix of rain and snow late Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
The service's Upton office said Long Island should have mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures -- highs into the low 60s -- through Wednesday.
But then cold arctic air spreads across the region, with high temperatures dropping into the high 40s Thursday and mid 30s Thursday night into Friday morning, warming slightly to the mid 40s during the day on Friday.
Joe Pollina, a meteorologist with the Upton office, said chances for precipitation Thursday and Friday are light, between 20 percent and 30 percent. And if there is snow, "with those temperatures we're not likely to see any accumulation," he said.
Things could change, Pollina said, but right now the incoming cold, which can be traced partially to the remnants of Typhoon Nuri, should be slightly less than normal for November.
Nighttime lows Thursday and Friday are expected to be in the mid to high 30s, the service said.
Nuri's hurricane-force winds that hammered Alaska have helped push that cold air from Canada into parts of the West and Midwest, weather forecasters said.
While some parts of those regions are expected to receive icy wind and snow, the Northeast is likely to escape much of that frigid cold.
Friday could be cold and rainy -- chance of precipitation is 30 percent -- but the rain should dissipate by Saturday.
The colder air lingers through the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday having partly sunny skies and daytime temperatures in the mid 40s.
