Quantcast

Forecasters Debunk Rumors of Mega Storm this Weekend

Snow plow clearing the streets during another winter storm that hit LI.
Snow plow clearing the streets during a winter storm that hit LI.

The National Weather Service released a statement apparently meant to calm fears of many who decided to believe—and spread—a social media-driven rumor warning of a massive snow storm descending on Long Island and the rest of region this weekend.

Although forecast models currently show a chance of “light snow” this weekend, they do not show “the potential for a large coastal storm that would bring high impacts across the region,” the weather service said.

The agency clarified its remarks further on its Facebook page:

David Stark, a NWS meteorologists, said forecasts currently show a chance of snow from Saturday afternoon through early Monday, but it would be a “light type of snowfall, nothing too heavy.”

“In the winter time, there’s always going to be unpredictability issues,” he said of forecasts, “and weather models could show something interesting and it snowballs.”

“It went from one image to craziness pretty much,” Stark said of the rumor.

Some armchair forecasters have used social media to spread inaccurate forecasts of snowfall up to 30 inches, prompting the public information statement from the weather service.

The rumors started to gain steam on Monday when Long Island was hit with nearly 10 inches of snow.

Another storm arrived Wednesday morning, dumping a dangerous mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain on the area.

So far, LI has seen more than 40 inches of snow this winter.