First widespread snowfall of the season expected to hit region overnight into Friday

The National Weather Service is forecasting a snowfall total of between 3 to 5 inches for the East End Friday, the first significant snowfall of the season.

The snow could begin to fall as early as 9 p.m. Thursday or more likely around midnight and is expected to continue through Friday morning, intensifying at daybreak, according to Dominic Ramunni, meteorologist with the NWS on Long Island.

“The Friday morning commute should be very impacted from this snow,” Mr. Ramunni said Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the storm and while the snowfall is currently expected to stop around lunchtime, winds could pick up in the afternoon with gusts as high as 30 miles per hour along the coastline.

“We’ll see temperatures dropping into the teens after that,” Mr. Ramunni said. “Saturday is looking beautiful though.”

Sunny skies and temperatures around 34 degrees are expected Saturday with a chance for more precipitation later Sunday. Mr. Ramunni said it’s too early to say whether it will be rain or snow that closes out the weekend, but it’s looking like a “warmer system.”