Two Snow Threats in Long Island Forecast

Long Island could see a few inches of snow over the next few days, the National Weather Service says.

The first chance of snow will come Friday morning. Light snow is expected to begin around midnight and continue through the morning commute.

As far as snow totals, the NWS says amounts are still uncertain, but "it appears most likely" that Long Island will receive at least 1-2 inches of snowfall around rush hour.

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"Given the uncertainty, no snow is a possibility, but there is the potential for 2-4 inches on the higher end," the NWS says.

Current NWS snowfall maps indicate about a 60 percent of more than an inch of snow on Long Island, about a 40 percent chance of more than two inches and around a 10 percent of more than four inches.

“While this certainly will not be a major snowfall, the timing of this covering of snow will make many roads slippery for the Friday morning commute,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson says.

Earlier Wednesday, the NWS was warning of a potential snowstorm over the weekend, but the latest forecasts suggest just a glancing blow for Long Island from a storm system offshore. A half-inch to an inch of snow is possible Saturday.

However, "there is uncertainty with this system and a swing back to the northwest with the low will allow for a precipitation trend upward," the NWS says.

Here's the full forecast:

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.

Thursday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 36. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. West wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

Thursday Night: Snow likely, mainly after 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 26. West wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Friday: Snow likely, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. North wind 7 to 10 mph.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of snow after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 29.

Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29.

Photo: Flickr/CreativeCommons/Terry Ballard