Cold, sunny days ahead, then Friday storm

Forecasters are carefully watching a coastal storm heading for the region and possibly hitting Long Island with six inches of snow and strong winds Friday into Saturday.

"Confidence is increasing that a strong winter storm will affect the area Friday night into Saturday night, but there is still quite a bit of model spread on how close to the coast the storm will track and the intensity of low pressure," the National Weather Service said in a Tuesday evening advisory.

"There are several governing factors to this, which we should have increasing clarity on over the next 48 hours," the weather service said.

The advisory said the "highest probability" for at least six inches of snow from the storm is across Long Island and Connecticut, adding that strong winds, gale conditions on the water and coastal flooding is possible, especially for eastern Long Island and along the Long Island Sound and Great South Bay for Saturday night's high tide.

Before that, Wednesday will be sunny and very cold, a high of 25 degrees with wind chills as low as 10 degrees, forecasters said.

Thursday should be sunny as well, with a high of 31 and a calm wind blowing from the south by the afternoon. The low will be around 24, under an increasingly cloudy sky.

Friday’s forecast, for now, has a 30% chance of snow during the day but that soars up to 80% at night with a high of 34 degrees and low of 21.

There's an 80% chance of snow Saturday with a high of 27 and a 60% chance Saturday night with a low of 13.

Sunday, fair cold weather returns. It should be mostly sunny, with a high of 29. After a frigid night, with a low of 19, Monday also should offer sunny skies, and a high of 32.