Forecast: Coastal storm could bring snow, rain this week

Don’t put away those snow shovels just yet. A coastal storm — this one with accumulating snow — is expected Tuesday night into Wednesday on the heels of last week’s nor’easter, forecasters say.

Monday was expected to be dry, with a mix of sun and clouds and high temperatures in the middle-40s, according to National Weather Service meteorologists based in Upton. Lows at night will dip to around 30 degrees.

But on Tuesday, a day of increasing clouds with highs in the lower 40s could bring that second coastal storm late at night. Meteorologist Joe Pollina said snow could start after midnight, then turn to a rain/snow mix after sunrise.

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, the snow is predicted to return, but taper off at night, leaving 2 inches on the South Fork — where more rain is expected — and between 4 and 5 inches in Nassau and Suffolk counties, he said. Highs Wednesday will dip to the mid-30s and the lows will be in the 30s.

Still, forecasters say it’s still too early to predict the storm’s exact track and timing.

“Indications are getting stronger that there’ll be another coastal storm late Tuesday through Wednesday night” that will come from the North Carolina coast, weather service meteorologist Tim Morrin said. “The winds will be from the northeast but they won’t be in the category we just had of winds up to 60 to 70 miles per hour — this would be upward of 20 to 30 miles per hour.”

Morrin said that while last week’s storm dumped between an inch-and-a-half and 3 inches of rain on Long Island, “with this one, we don’t expect that.”

A mostly cloudy day is ahead for Thursday, with a few leftover snow/rain showers in the morning. Highs will be in the low 40s with lows near 30 overnight.

Seasonable weather arrives for Friday, though the clouds will hang around. Highs are forecast in the mid-40s, with lows near 30. — With Stefanie Dazio