The first snow flakes of the season are forecast to start falling on Long Island early Friday morning, but little-to-no accumulation is expected since the white stuff will be mixed with rain.
There is a 90-percent chance that precipitation after midnight will change to rain and wet snow from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Friday, with a chance that more snow flakes will fall between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are forecast to hit a low of 36 degrees overnight. It may make for a messy Friday morning rush hour commute.
“Snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible,” meteorologists from the agency’s Upton office predicted.
The storm is riding up the East Coast while a massive arctic air mass from the north blasts most of the nation with temperatures about 10-degrees below normal for this time of year. The heaviest snowfall amounts are expected around the Great Lakes, in New England and Canada.
The winter solstice may not be until next month, but it is not uncommon for the first snow to fall on LI in November. The first flakes fell on LI during a Halloween nor’easter three years ago.
Forecasters have given a 33-percent chance of LI experiencing more snow and slightly above-average temps in the coming winter season. The Farmer’s Almanac also predicted above-average snowfall this winter. But, neither source predicted exactly how much more snowfall is expected.
Once this storm passes, temps are forecast to reach a high of 46 Friday with a wind chill between 30 and 40. The skies will clear up come nightfall, leading into a sunny Saturday and cloudy Sunday with temps remaining in the low 40s.
There’s currently a 50-percent chance that rain will start off the week Monday, when temps may dip down as low as the high 30s during the day.
