Long Island weather forecast: Colder than normal this week, but little snow

The cold snap continues for Long Island this week, with highs barely reaching 30 degrees, overnight temperatures in the teens, and "feels like" temperatures as low as the single digits.

But the Island will dodge any real impacts from a winter storm moving farther south, according to the National Weather Service. There is a 50% chance of light snow Monday, with a high of 31 degrees.

"It's very possible Long Island won't be getting snow at all," said Matthew Wunsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton. The South Shore is more likely to see flurries than the North Shore, he said. Any snow is expected to be "very light," at most half an inch.

But the below-average cold is here. This week's temperatures will be about 5 to 10 degrees below normal, Wunsch said, with average highs for the area in January standing at closer to 40 degrees, with lows around 26.

The low on Monday night will be 18 degrees, but north winds will bring wind chill values to 5 to 15 degrees. Temperatures on Long Island may not rise above freezing until Friday, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

The winter storm moving south of Long Island has already impacted other parts of the country, with more than 15 inches of snow reported in parts of Kansas and up to a foot of snow possible Monday from northern Missouri to the mid-Atlantic, including Washington, D.C., according to the weather service.

The storm led to more than 6,000 delayed and 2,000 canceled flights nationally Sunday, according to FlightAware, which tracks aviation trends across the country. By early Sunday evening, more than 850 U.S. flights had already been canceled for Monday, including about three dozen scheduled to depart or arrive at Kennedy or LaGuardia airports.

With Grant Parpan