Long Island could get up to 5 inches of snow this weekend, National Weather Service says

Long Island could see 2 to 5 inches of snow on Saturday night into Sunday, the first measurable snowfall of the season, the National Weather Service said.

Service meteorologist James Tomasini said the new snowfall amount increased due to low pressure that will form offshore and pass south of Long Island, bringing chances up to 80%.

The weather service on Friday afternoon issued a winter weather advisory from 10 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday.

Snowfall will most likely start between 10 p.m. and midnight on Saturday and last through Sunday morning, according to NWS meteorologist Dominic Ramunni. The highest amounts of accumulation will most likely occur on the South Shore, the weather service said.

"It should be a pretty quick hitter," Tomasini said.

The snow could fall around a half inch every hour, and even as heavily as an inch every between midnight and 10 a.m. Sunday, according to a NWS briefing issued on Saturday morning. Precipitation will begin as wet snow possibly mixed with rain before drying up to a powdery snow on Sunday morning.

"Folks should practice safety: when shoveling, take breaks, dress in layers," NWS meteorologist Dominic Ramunni said. "If you don't have to travel, especially Sunday morning, maybe it's best to wait it out and let the road crews do their thing."

Saturday’s wind chill values will feel like they are between 20 and 30, while lows will be in the lower 20s at night.

A predicted snowfall accumulation map released by the service Friday afternoon called for most of the Island to see around 3 or 4 inches of snow, with Westhampton expected to get 4.4 inches, 3.5 estimated for Syosset, 3.9 for Islip and 3.8 for Montauk.

The last time Long Island experienced measurable snowfall at Long Island MacArthur Airport was Feb. 20, with only one-tenth of an inch, "not a whole lot," Tomasini said.

Sunday will see highs in the low-to-mid-30s.

Visible snow will likely not melt until Tuesday, when temperatures begin to climb above freezing. Wednesday will see highs in the low-to-mid 40s and Thursday will be as warm as the low 50s.

Newsday's Maureen Mullarkey contributed to this story.