'Long Duration Winter Weather Event' to Begin This Weekend

A long duration winter weather event.

That is what the National Weather Service is calling it and that is what is likely coming to Long Island for a 48-hour or so period starting on Saturday night.

The duration of that winter weather event and the amount of snow projected for Long Island has been tamped down in the latest NWS forecast. Earlier predictions of 8 or more inches of snow for the island are now being reserved for the lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut.

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“The New York City metropolitan area and Long Island may be more likely to see snow changing to a wintry mix,” a hazardous weather outlook issued by the NWS reads, regarding the weather from Saturday night into Monday night.

Long Island could be spared significant snowfall, but less snow may mean an increasing potential for ice accumulation, the NWS says.

Stay tuned, however, as the NWS says the forecast for this weekend and into early next week is “a complicated and uncertain scenario.”

The current NWS forecast for Long Island:

• Friday- Partly sunny, with a high near 22. Wind chill values between zero and 10. West wind 6 to 15 mph.
• Friday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Wind chill values between 10 and 15. West wind 6 to 8 mph.
• Saturday- A slight chance of snow after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Saturday Night- A slight chance of snow before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Sunday- Snow and freezing rain likely, mainly after 9am. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 29. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• Sunday Night- Snow and freezing rain likely, becoming all snow after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Monday- Snow and freezing rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Monday Night- Snow and freezing rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Tuesday- Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31.

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Photo by Annalisa/Massapequa