LI forecast: Nor’easter to bring less than 6 inches of snow for most

Long Island’s second nor’easter in less than a week was expected to deliver snowy, rainy conditions Wednesday, along with gusty winds and minor-to-moderate coastal flooding, forecasters said.

The front end of the nor’easter moved across the Island overnight and was expected dump up to about 6 inches of snow on some areas before it moves out early Thursday, forecasters said.

A winter storm warning is effect until 4 a.m. Thursday for Nassau County, and a winter weather advisory is in effect for northwestern, northeastern and southwestern Suffolk.

Snow, mixing with rain in some places, will have accumulations of up to 7 inches in the warning area and up to 6 inches in the advisory areas before it ends, forecasters said.

Winds will be breezy, but gusts up to 40 mph, which could down trees and power lines, the National Weather Service said.

The snow moved into Nassau County about 11 p.m. Tuesday and warmed as it moved east, bringing snow to much of Suffolk County but rain by the time it reached Montauk about 3 a.m., according to Adrienne Leptich, meteorologist at the weather service in Upton.

“For the most part it started as snow, except for the Twin Forks, where it started as rain,” Leptich said.

There is also a coastal flood advisory in effect from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday for northern Nassau and northwestern Suffolk, the weather service said.

“No matter how much snow falls, it will be heavy and slushy, making driving in the morning difficult,” News 12 Long Island meteorologist Bill Korbel said Tuesday. That’s as pinning down snow amounts is difficult, he said, given a change to rain in some areas.

Still, amounts were subject to change, depending on where the rain-snow line sets up; even small shifts in the track could mean less — or more — snow, the weather service said. A track closer to the coast would move that line west, meaning less snow and more rain for the Island.

Long Islanders should not be surprised to hear a rumble of thunder, as conditions were right for thunder snow — which is a thunderstorm with snow, forecasters said.

A wind advisory is in effect for southeastern Suffolk from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, warning of 20- to 30-mph winds, gusting to 50 mph, the weather service said.

The south shores of Nassau and southwestern Suffolk are under a coastal flood warning Wednesday, with moderate flooding expected around high tide. Minor to locally moderate flooding can also be expected at high tide in other areas, the weather service said.

Nassau County officials had begun to prepare for the storm early.

Officials said county public works employees were readying snow trucks, including mounting plows, testing and greasing spreaders, and fueling the trucks and payloaders. About 16,000 tons of road salt and 1,200 tons of road sand were on hand, along with 94 snow and salt trucks, 17 payloaders and 15 pickup trucks.

The Long Island Rail Road said it would take several measures to protect its system from the storm. That includes running four trains, beginning Tuesday night, that apply a special chemical on the electrified third rail to help prevent the buildup of snow and ice. The LIRR also will have additional crews out to keep track switches from freezing. The railroad uses gas and electric heaters to keep snow and ice off the switches.

The railroad will also mobilize snow-clearing crews beginning around 2 a.m. Wednesday to pre-salt station platforms and make other preparations. The LIRR said rail-mounted snowblowers are “pre-positioned at strategic track switching locations” throughout the system.

With the brunt of the storm hitting parts west and north of the Island, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday night said travel on certain roads would be banned starting 8 a.m. Wednesday for trucks, buses, box trucks and other high-profile vehicles. The ban includes I-95, the New York State Thruway from Syracuse to the New York City border, the Garden State Parkway Connector and I-287.

With Candice Ferrette, Alfonso A. Castillo and Ellen Yan