After a quiet—and mostly dry—winter, it appears Mother Nature has finally woken up from a prolonged slumber.
Long Island could get hit with up to 8 inches of snow Sunday night and through Monday afternoon, forecasters said. The white stuff wouldn’t start falling until after 11 p.m., potentially more than an hour after the Super Bowl has ended—good news for football fans enjoying the big game away from home.
Both Nassau and Suffolk counties will be under a winter storm watch starting Sunday evening and lasting through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Upton said.
Temperatures will be in the mid 20s to mid 30s and wind gusts could top off at 35 mph, forecasters said. There is also a chance for snow mixing with freezing rain and sleet Monday, forecasters said.
The weather service said the wintry conditions could make traveling dangerous.
Forecasters have been tracking a low pressure system coming from the west, and there previously was some uncertainty as to what type of precipitation Long Island would see. But as of now snow seems more likely, forecasters said.
The system will “be taking a track south of Long Island Sunday night into Monday, and depending on how far north that center of low pressure gets will determine how much of a wintry mix we are going to get on Long Island,” said John Murray, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
The potential storm comes just days after Long Island, particularly the East End, was battered with up to 30 inches of snow. The snowfall in this storm won’t be as significant, however.
No wintry weather is expected this weekend, but it will be brutally cold, especially at night. Saturday’s forecast calls for sunny skies and blustery conditions with the wind chill making it feel like 5 degrees, forecasters said. The deep freeze will continue into Sunday, with wind chill values between 10 and 20 degrees, forecasters said.
