Hour-by-Hour Long Island Snowstorm Forecast, New Snowfall Total Maps

Winter will come roaring back with a vengeance Thursday after the temperature hit a daily record high of 61 degrees at Long Island MacArthur Airport Wednesday.

A total of 8-12 inches of snow is expected to fall in Nassau County and western Suffolk County. Eastern Suffolk will likely see 12-18 inches, according to the National Weather Service (see the latest snowfall total projection maps below). There's about a 35 percent chance of more than a foot of snow across the island.

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A blizzard warning is in effect from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday for Suffolk as winds gust up to 45 mph. In Nassau, a winter storm warning is in effect from midnight to 6 p.m. Wind gusts could reach 35 mph in Nassau.

The timing of the storm has shifted slightly from earlier forecasts. Precipitation, likely in the form of rain and snow, is now expected to begin after 3 a.m. It will change to all snow within a few hours as temperatures drop below freezing.

An inch or two of accumulation is possible by 6 a.m. Heavy wet snow before 8 a.m. will become dry and powdery quickly thereafter. The bulk of the snow will fall from daybreak into the afternoon. Snow could fall at a rate of three inches an hour at times, the NWS says.

Most school districts on the island have already announced closures for Thursday.

Here's the hour-by-hour forecast:

Midnight- 36 degrees, 7 mph winds

1 a.m.- 35 degrees, 8 mph winds, 14 percent chance of rain/snow

2 a.m.- 34 degrees, 9 mph winds, 14 percent chance of rain/snow

3 a.m.- 34 degrees, 10 mph winds, 66 percent chance of rain/snow

4 a.m.- 33 degrees, 13 mph winds, 66 percent chance of rain/snow

5 a.m.- 32 degrees, 15 mph winds, 66 percent chance of rain/snow

6 a.m.- 31 degrees, 17 mph winds, 99 percent chance of snow

7 a.m.- 30 degrees, 20 mph winds, 99 percent chance of snow

8 a.m.- 29 degrees, 22 mph winds, 100 percent chance of snow

9 a.m.- 28 degrees, 23 mph winds (36 mph gusts), 100 percent chance of snow

10 a.m.- 27 degrees, 25 mph winds (41 mph gusts), 100 percent chance of snow

11 a.m.- 27 degrees, 28 mph winds (43 mph gusts), 99 percent chance of snow

Noon- 28 degrees, 29 mph winds (44 mph gusts), 99 percent chance of snow

1 p.m.- 28 degrees, 29 mph winds (43 mph gusts), 76 percent chance of snow

2 p.m.- 28 degrees, 28 mph winds (39 mph gusts), 76 percent chance of snow

3 p.m.- 27 degrees, 26 mph winds, 57 percent chance of snow

4 p.m.- 26 degrees, 24 mph winds, 57 percent chance of snow

5 p.m.- 26 degrees, 22 mph winds, 46 percent chance of snow

6 p.m.- 25 degrees, 21 mph winds (31 mph gusts), 11 percent chance of snow

7 p.m.- 25 degrees, 20 mph winds (33 mph gusts), 11 percent chance of snow

8 p.m.- 23 degrees, 20 mph winds (32 mph gusts), 11 percent chance of snow

Photo: Flickr/CreativeCommons/Anthony Quintano