Nor'easter Brings Blizzard Warning for South Fork

The National Weather Service has now issued a blizzard warning for all of Long Island from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon.

The nor'easter is expected to bring upward of 10 inches to 15 inches of snow to the Long Island, with locally higher amounts totaling 16 to 18 inches.

Wind gusts associated with this classic New England nor'easter will range from 30 to 40 miles per hour with howling gusts hitting 60 miles per hour. Downed trees, tree limbs and flying debris could also be part of the problem and winds will also cause whiteout conditions and possibly down power lines, creating power outages.

The National Weather Service forecasts the strongest winds and heaviest snowfall will occur from Friday evening into Saturday morning, although snowfall should begin early Friday morning before switching over to rain throughout the day.

The National Weather Service has also issued a coastal flood advisory for southwest Suffolk County. The advisory warns against 2-to-3 foot higher tides and waves 9-to-13 feet along beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said he was briefed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier on Thursday that come Friday late afternoon or early evening the temperature will drop off significantly. "That will lead to flash freezing of the highways," he said.

"I would advise people to be off the road starting Friday evening," Wilkinson said. "When you get winds of 50 mph, high surges, snow, ice and potentially accumulations of up to 16-inches, you stay home. Don't go out. You're only going to impede the rescue crews and the highway crews."

Wilkinson said there is much reason to be concerned about erosion, particularly in Montauk, which is still recovering from the erosion done by Superstorm Sandy in late October.

"It's going to be treacherous," he said.

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A blizzard warning mean severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring within the next 12 hours. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely.

A technical "blizzard" would mean the following conditions over a period of three or more hours: sustained winds or frequent gusts to 35 miles per hour or higher with considerable blowing and/or falling snow that frequently reduces visibility to less than a quarter of a mile.

Patch will continue to monitor the nor'easter as it approaches Long Island.