Long Island Weather: Snow Total Estimates Change For Winter Storm

LONG ISLAND, NY — Snow total estimates have been slashed for much of Long Island with rain and sleet now likely to crush the dreams of snowlovers.

A winter storm warning has been issued for northern Nassau County where up to a foot of snow is still in the forecast, the National Weather Service says. That warning is in effect from 2 p.m. Wednesday until 1 p.m. Thursday.

A winter storm watch is in effect for that same time period for the rest of the island. A total of 3-10 inches of snow is likely with the lowest amounts expected along the South Shore where snow is expected to mix with rain and sleet early Thursday.

There is still uncertainty with regard to how much warm air moves into the area. If warmer air moves into the region, less snow will be forecast. If colder air moves into the area, then more snow will be forecast and a winter storm warning would be extended to the entire island.

Precipitation is expected to start off as all snow everywhere Wednesday afternoon or early evening with a period of heavy snow during the first half of the night (between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday). Snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour are possible during this time frame, even after 1 a.m. for areas away from the coast.

Travel could be very difficult Wednesday night into early Thursday with wind gusts up to 50 mph causing blizzard-like conditions, the weather service says.

The wind may cause tree limbs to break and pull down wires, causing outages, PSEG Long Island says.

“PSEG Long Island is closely tracking the progress of this significant weather front and we are hard at work making all necessary preparations to respond to the potential impact of the high winds and snow accumulations,” said John O’Connell, vice president of transmission & distribution at PSEG Long Island.

The weather service has released the odds for various amounts of snow for many Long Island towns. See the maps below.

The maps below show the odds of more than 4, 6 and 8 inches of snow.