Long Island forecast: Brutal wind chills, light snow for the weekend

Long Island is again bracing for brutally cold conditions as the National Weather Service predicts an arctic front will bring wind chill values of between minus 5 and minus 20 this weekend accompanied by light snow.

Even in a winter with a nine-day stretch of subfreezing weather and a storm that left a foot of snow on Long Island, the front coming Saturday is expected to bring the most frigid air.

"This is likely going to be the coldest air mass that we’ve had this winter," NWS meteorologist David Stark said.

"You don't want to be outside in those conditions for a prolonged period of time," Stark said. "What we're basically emphasizing is as little as 15 to 30 minutes. If you have exposed skin in those wind chills late Saturday night, early Sunday morning, that frostbite and hypothermia are a real risk."

The service issued an extreme cold warning for Long Island and New York City from 1 p.m. Saturday until 1 p.m. Sunday. A wind advisory will also be in effect from 9 a.m. Saturday to midnight as northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected.

NewsdayTV meteorologist Geoff Bansen said the recorded average so far for the 2025-26 season has been 28 degrees at MacArthur Airport, making it one of the five coldest winters on record. The coldest was the 1976-77 season with an average of 27 degrees. 

Those venturing outside should dress in multiple layers and wear hats, gloves, a face mask and cover exposed skin. They should also limit time outdoors and bring pets indoors, as the wind chills could cause hypothermia and frostbite.

Warming centers across the Island offer options for those without heat or shelter. The Nassau County Warming Space, on Old Country Road in Westbury, is activated when the wind chill is at 32 degrees or below for two consecutive hours or more.

Throughout Suffolk County, various public libraries, senior centers and the Dix Hills Ice Rink will serve as warming centers "during excessive cold conditions," according to the county's website. Before traveling to any site, county officials recommend calling to make sure the center is open.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, with 17 people in New York City dead so far in the elements or on the subway, the city was hiring nurses to expand the team that decides whether to involuntarily force people outdoors into a hospital. The city is also opening more shelters, and warming centers and warming buses, he said.

Wind chill values will make Friday’s highs in the low 30s feel between 5 and 15 degrees. Temperatures will drop to the lower 20s Friday night.

"It's just kind of the beginning of what's coming," Stark said.

Light snowfall will begin falling after 10 p.m. Friday and continue through Saturday afternoon with 1 to 2 inches possible, possibly more for the East End.

Saturday night will feature the most dangerously cold conditions. The mercury will fall through the day and winds will kick up to 50 mph, the weather service said, with temperatures plummeting to 4 degrees and wind chills making it feel like minus 15 degrees, and minus 20 in parts of Suffolk. 

Sunday will see sunny skies but accompanied by 30 mph winds. High temperatures will reach into the upper teens, while lows will drop to the single digits Sunday night. Monday's outlook is slightly better, with the forecast calling for sunshine and highs in the mid-20s and lows in the high teens. Tuesday's high should be in the 30s. 

Wednesday should finally crack the freezing mark with a high of 35 degrees forecast, but with a chance of rain or snow.

"There's three more weeks of meteorological winter, but as of today, we're on pace to be the fourth coldest winter at Islip MacArthur," Bansen said. "The other four years in the top five are all from the '60s and '70s. So it's clearly been a long time since we've seen this level of cold."

December and the first half of January were relatively average temperatures, he added. 

Stark said since recent winters have been mild, these conditions have come as a shock for many.

"We've been sort of missed by some of this higher and more extreme cold in the last several winters," he said. "We just haven't really dealt with it as much."

While some areas on Long Island have reached above freezing temperatures this week by 1 or 2 degrees, the service has now recorded 13 days of at or below freezing temperatures at MacArthur Airport, Stark said. 

"There's no significant warm-up in sight, but we may finally get back above freezing at some point next week," Bansen said. 

The last time subzero temperatures occurred for this long was from December 2017 to January 2018 for a total of 13 days.

Bansen said there is a significant chance that record could be beat as of Sunday. 

The longest duration of below freezing temperatures recorded at the airport was 16 days from Feb. 5 through Feb. 20 in 1979. 

"We're not there yet," Stark said. "But we are heading toward that direction."

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a ban on empty tractor-trailers and tandem trucks at bridges and tunnels beginning 2 p.m. Saturday. It also was adding personnel to monitor conditions on the Long Island Rail Road and subways, and to make repairs as needed.

Newsday's Matthew Chayes contributed to this story.