Fast-moving snow squalls create dangerous road conditions on Long Island

Long Island can expect chilly temperatures but largely dry skies heading into the weekend after the region got a dusting of snow — and a pair of fast-moving snow squalls — during the first day of 2026, National Weather Service meteorologists said.

The squalls — brief, intense bursts of snow that bring high winds and low visibility — dumped almost a third of an inch of snow at the weather service station in Upton on Thursday morning on top of an inch that had already fallen.

Even before the squalls, parts of Long Island and New York City got a dusting of snow on New Year's Day, according to the weather service.

Suffolk County totals ranged from 2.3 inches in Baiting Hollow to 0.2 inches in Amityville. Nassau County recorded 0.5 inches in Albertson, the weather service reported.

Forecasters expect dry and frigid — yet occasionally sunny — conditions Friday through the weekend across Long Island, with daytime temperatures topping out in the low-to-mid 30s, and dropping into the low 20s at night. No additional rain or snow is in the forecast until likely Tuesday at the earliest, the weather service said.

Snow squalls, rare for Long Island, are dangerous for motorists because they can produce whiteout conditions and strong wind gusts, though law enforcement said there were no reports of crashes attributable to them Thursday.

"It's similar to a situation in summer when we might get a squall line of thunderstorms," though because of freezing temperatures, the result is snow instead of flooding rains, said James Tomasini, a meteorologist at the Weather Service's Upton station. 

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.com,nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday,

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.