Is a Weekend Winter Storm Brewing?

Let's get this out the way: it's Monday. The weekend is a long way away. That said, forecasters are beginning to keep a close eye on a storm system that could bring snow to Long Island Saturday night and Sunday.

Here's what the National Weather Service says in a forecast discussion Monday night:

"There is a potential for a coastal storm to pass close enough to the local area to bring some snow during the Saturday night and Sunday timeframe. At this time most global models keep the low suppressed to our south keeping this to a light event or even a near miss. The latest GFS run continues to be the outlier with a stronger/snowier system. Will need to be monitor closely over the next several days."

Something to keep in mind about that Global Forecast System (GFS) model, though: that model has been running poorly recently and there's no one on duty at the National Weather Service to fix it thanks to the government shutdown, the Washington Post reports.

Make sure you are signed up for Patch news/weather alerts here to get the latest updates on the storm.

Here's the full forecast:

Monday Night- A chance of snow and sleet before 1am, then a chance of rain, snow, and sleet between 1am and 3am, then rain likely after 3am. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to around 37 by 5am. South wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected.

Tuesday- Rain likely, mainly before 9am, then a slight chance of rain or drizzle after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Southwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night- Showers and thunderstorms likely before 4am, then a chance of showers. Patchy fog before 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 43. South wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west 12 to 17 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday- Mostly sunny, with a temperature falling to around 38 by 5pm. Wind chill values between 30 and 35. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.

Wednesday Night-Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Breezy, with a west wind 17 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.

Thursday-Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Breezy.

Thursday Night- Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.

Friday- Sunny, with a high near 30.

Friday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around 18.

Saturday- Partly sunny, with a high near 31.

Saturday Night- A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Sunday- A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34.

Sunday Night- Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.