Snow flurries in New Year forecast

The New Year should begin with a dusting of snow flurries from Montauk to Manhattan starting before 4 a.m., forecasters said.

Whatever snow sticks to the ground, though, shouldn't last long as New Year's Day temperatures are expected to be well above freezing, reaching the low 40s on a "partly sunny and breezy" day, the National Weather Service reports.

The weather service forecasts are consistent throughout Long Island, with slightly stronger gusts along the South Shore, up to 30 mph.

Late on New Year's Day, overnight temperatures will sink to the 20s, and no further snowfall is expected for the rest of the week.

The region is getting off to a better start than other parts of the country, with widespread showers and thunderstorms expected across the Deep South, and heavy snow expected from the southern Rockies across much of Kansas and Missouri and into the upper Ohio Valley.