Weather

Four to six inches of snow for the East End in Saturday forecast

The winter solstice is not for another two weeks, but the East End is expected to get its first snow of the season this weekend.

Four to six inches are in the forecast for southeast New York and southern Connecticut Saturday. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Friday for the area, which will be in effect from Saturday at 6 a.m. to Sunday at 6 a.m.

Tim Morrin, a meteorologist with the NWS in Upton, said the snow will begin on the North Fork Saturday between 5 and 7 a.m. and continue throughout the day. The snow will be “predominately light” here with accumulations between 3 and 5 inches, he said. “Let’s call it an average of 4 inches by dark.”

Another inch may fall after dark and the snow fall should end around midnight, he said.

Temperatures will rise during Saturday to just above the freezing mark, with highs near 36 degrees, “a good thing,” Mr. Morrin said. The roadways, especially those well traveled, will be more wet and slushy than icy. “That doesn’t mean it can’t become slippery at times,” he said. Most of the accumulations will be on non-paved surfaces, he added.

However, when it becomes dark tomorrow and temperatures fall to below freezing, drivers should watch for slippery spots and black ice on the roads. “Anyone out traveling later on in the evening should be aware of that,” he said.

Before day break on Sunday, new snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are possible. But the day will bring out the sun and higher temperatures, well above freezing, near 40 degrees, and sun.

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