‘Classic nor’easter’ may dump more than 6 inches of snow on L.I. Saturday: NWS

Update 6 p.m.:  The National Weather Service has revised its forecast for Saturday, saying the coastal low may produce “significant icing” or “significant snow” depending on its track and on whether or not “warm air aloft” develops. See updated story here.

Original story: The National Weather Service says a “classic nor’easter” may develop off the Atlantic coast this weekend and dump more than six inches of snow across the region Saturday into Saturday night.

Forecasters are closely watching a low pressure system in the southeast, which they expect to develop and move towards the North Carolina coast by early Saturday. The rapidly deepening low is then expected to take a northeast track to near the 40N 70W benchmark by early Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service in New York. The benchmark is typically associated with heavy snow makers for Long Island; winter storms that pass over or near it usually produce significant snowfall across the region.

There is still uncertainty about the exact track and strength of the low, which will affect the type and amount of precipitation on the island, forecasters caution.

“The potential is there for a classic nor’easter and with the current track and magnitude. We could see significant snow and very gusty winds,” the weather service said in its forecast discussion.

“The track is at or just east of the benchmark aforementioned and with raw models temps of 34-35 degrees, precipitation should be intense enough to drop temperatures rather quickly, which would give surface temperatures freezing or below. Therefore forecast has increasing chances of mainly snow across the entire region going into Saturday and continuing into Saturday evening before tapering off late at night.”

The National Weather Service early this morning issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Long Island region.