20 inches of snow, blizzard conditions forecast for Long Island from Sunday into Monday

A dangerous blizzard is bearing down on Long Island and the metro area that will bring whiteout conditions, damaging winds and snowfall accumulations of 15 to 20 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Long Island starting Sunday morning ahead of the nor'easter.

"It's time to brace for impact, New Yorkers," Hochul said at a press briefing Saturday afternoon, adding that New York is "in the crosshairs of a very dangerous, fast moving, potentially life threatening winter storm."

Hochul said she activated 100 members of the National Guard to assist with snow response throughout Long Island, New York City and the lower Hudson Valley region.

"It looks like we have a pretty solid 19 or 20 inches Islandwide," Bill Goodman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Upton, said in an interview Saturday afternoon. "There’s still potential for some places to see 2 feet of snow."

After a mild Saturday, temperatures will drop into the 30s overnight and quickly go near or below freezing as snow picks up Sunday, Goodman said.

Light snow will begin Sunday morning but will ramp up in the evening and overnight into Monday. Snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour are expected late Sunday night, Goodman said. That will cause dangerous to impossible travel, as visibility will be at or below a quarter mile at times, particularly for the coast, the weather service said. The storm could also bring the rare occurrence of thundersnow during the heaviest snowfall, Goodman said.

Dangerous winds and heavy, wet snow increase the potential for power outages.

In an update Saturday evening, PSEG Long Island officials said they are staffing additional utility crews to respond to outages. That includes more than 600 line workers, tree trimmers and other field workers and another 260 mutual aid personnel, the utility said.

PSEG officials cautioned that high winds may delay power restoration but said crews will work in 16-hour shifts until all outages are repaired. Downed wires should be reported to 911. To report a power outage and get updates, text OUT to 773454 or call 800-490-0075.

"Due to the multi-hour period of sustained high winds in the forecast, as well as the travel and rear-property access challenges associated with the snow, some outages may extend beyond 24 hours," the company wrote in an email Saturday.

Officials urge LIers to avoid travel

The NWS last issued a blizzard warning for Long Island in 2022. A blizzard is characterized by wind gusts stronger than 35 mph, reduced visibility and sustained periods of heavy snowfall, according to the weather service.

Several towns announced the cancellation of garbage pickup on Monday. As of Saturday evening, they include Brookhaven, East Hampton, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Islip and Huntington. The cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove have also cancelled garbage pickup.

At a Suffolk weather briefing earlier on Saturday, County Executive Edward P. Romaine said Saturday's mild, 45-degree weather should not give anyone false hope and he urged residents to stay home during the storm. Unlike last month’s major snowfall, which was accompanied by a spate of extreme cold, Sunday and Monday's highs will be in the mid-30s and will be followed by rising temperatures next week, forecasters said.

High winds and blizzard conditions in the forecast are "very concerning," Romaine said as he stood before a towering pile of sand and salt in a storage barn in Yaphank.

"Please stay off the roads. Do not plan to travel," Romaine said.

The county Department of Public Works’ commissioner, Charles Bartha, said Suffolk County was "well prepared" for the storm, with 8,000 tons of salt on hand and additional deliveries expected on Saturday. The department plans to staff about 120 employees starting midday Sunday, Bartha said.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina echoed the need for residents to stay home. "We don't want the roads clogged up because we have to get out there and answer those emergency calls," Catalina said.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman held a weather briefing in Lido Beach Saturday afternoon, pleading with residents to take precautions during what's expected to be a "profound" storm.

Blakeman declared a state of emergency Saturday and will ban non-essential vehicles from traveling between 9 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday. Essential vehicles include emergency responders and those driven by doctors, nurses, hospital workers, municipal workers and other essential personnel.

Blakeman, joined by town supervisors and emergency management personnel, reiterated that residents should stay home and avoid street parking.

He also encouraged residents to brace for power outages because of wind and heavy, wet snow by charging devices, checking flashlight batteries and having a supply of food and water.

"It will be heavier, meaning more branches will go down. They will crash into our power lines," Blakeman said, urging residents to avoid downed power lines and report them to 911.

Temporary warming centers will be available for women at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, and men and families at the family court facility at 1200 Old Country Rd. in Westbury, officials said.

New York City is issuing a "code blue" at 4 p.m. Saturday, which means no one will be turned away from shelters. The city is opening 18 warming buses, 11 health and hospital warming spaces, 13 school warming centers and mobile warming units, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office.

Blizzard conditions, low visibility

"Potential blizzard conditions" — at least three hours of blowing snow, winds of at least 35 mph and visibility under a quarter-mile — could cause hazardous travel conditions, power outages and minor coastal flooding late Sunday into Monday, NewsdayTV Meteorologist Geoff Bansen said.

“The blizzard conditions make it really treacherous to have that wind howling, to have the white out conditions at times with visibility under a quarter of a mile. It’s very dangerous stuff," Bansen said Saturday evening. "We're going to get clobbered."

Winds could gust up to 55 mph in Suffolk and 45 mph in Nassau, according to the weather service. The East End could see the most intense gusts around 65 to 70 mph, Goodman said Saturday. "The heaviest snow and the strongest winds are going to coincide with each other," Goodman said.

A coastal flood warning is also in effect through 5 a.m. Monday, with up to 2.5 feet of inundation possible in low lying coastal areas, the weather service said.

Meanwhile, the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reminded Long Islanders that pets should not be left outside during storms.

"All animals must be inside," a Saturday morning news release from the SPCA says. "If an animal is left outside and suffers frostbite, hypothermia or worse, it is a crime and you will be arrested."

Above-average snowfall levels this winter

While forecasters had warned of a large potential storm earlier this week, models leading into the weekend varied from a few inches of snow to more than a foot. By Friday, the forecast became more consistent for heavy snow Sunday afternoon through Monday.

"This was looking like an all-or-nothing storm," Bansen said. "Coastal storms in general are tough to forecast. Often, a winter nor'easter relies on multiple chess pieces of atmospheric energy. It depended where it was going to phase together, whether it was over the water or closer to Long Island."

So far this winter, the weather service has recorded 8.2 inches above the average seasonal snowfall at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, according to Bansen.

Despite the above-average totals, the number of snowfalls has not been uncommon, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Engle. The Jan. 25 snowfall that dumped more than a foot of snow in many areas is the island's first "significant event" of the season before Sunday's storm, Engle said.

"In more active winters, this is fairly common; sometimes they're even more on top of each other," Engle said of significant snowfalls. "Some of the more active winters, you can get a couple of big storms within a few weeks of each other."

Newsday's Alek Lewis contributed to this story.