A winter storm is forecast bring snow, wind and rain to Long Island on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving—likely snarling traffic on the biggest travel day of the year, forecasters say.
Since there is still some uncertainty regarding the exact track of the storm, meteorologists are reluctant to predict exactly how much of the white stuff may accumulate, but there is a possibility between two and four inches of snow may fall on LI, with less likely on the East End, according to the National Weather Service.
“[Accumulations] may go up or down depending on how the track of all this and how the magnitude of the low evolves,” John Murray, a meteorologist with the agency’s Upton-based office, told the Press.
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The storm is also expected to impact the Northeast and much of the East Coast, with higher accumulation amounts forecast for areas north of LI, making travel tricky for those hitting the road for the holiday. Much of the tri-state area was under a winter storm watch as of Monday morning, when temperatures hovered in the 60s.
Tuesday is forecast to be mostly sunny with temps in the 50s before the precipitation is expected to start after sundown into Wednesday morning. The storm is expected to start as rain and turn into snow on LI as temps drop into the low 30s.
Once the storm passes, Thanksgiving is forecast to be mostly cloudy with temps in the high 30s and low 40s, with the same weather on tap for the Black Friday holiday shopping season kickoff and through the weekend.
Accuweather.com is reporting that the gusts from the remnants of the storm may make it difficult for floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to continue on their way through Manhattan.
“The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place rain or shine as it has on numerous occasions in the past,” said Macy’s spokesman Orlando Veras. “Macy’s Parade officials have been monitoring the weather on a daily basis, but at this time, it is too early to make any determinations on the flight of our giant balloons on Thanksgiving Day. Based on city regulations, no giant character balloon will be operated when there are sustained wind conditions exceeding 23 mph and wind gusts exceeding 34 mph.
He added: “On Parade morning, Macy’s and the NYPD will determine based on real time, on the scene weather data from various sources including our own on-site meteorologist, whether the giant balloons will fly and at what heights.”
