Long Island weather: Sleet, freezing rain this weekend

Freezing temperatures, with a wintry mix Saturday night into Sunday morning, are forecast for much of the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The precipitation, sleet and freezing rain, are expected to begin Saturday night as the temperature drops as low as the mid-20s, according to weather service meteorologist David Stark.

"We’re probably not gonna see too much sunshine at all," he said, predicting a weekend of cloudy, dark skies.

Saturday’s temperatures might straddle 32 degrees, but then drop at night until rising again Sunday, when it goes up to around 35 degrees. The wintry mix that will have begun Saturday night is to taper off throughout the day Sunday, he said.

Ice could result in "very slippery driving and walking conditions for most if not all of Sunday into Sunday night," the weather service said in an advisory earlier Friday.

Monday’s Washington’s Birthday no longer is expected to be fair: There is a 40% chance of freezing rain.

And the polar-driven weather will be a factor early next week, and how it interacts with a southern system moving north will determine how much of a threat the next storm poses.

"For Monday and beyond, the overall setup will be for arctic high pressure to remain [to] our north, with low pressure moving into the Southern Appalachians and then transferring to the coast. The system has potential to produce accumulating snow at the onset that transitions to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain," the weather service said.

The odds of snow and a wintry mix on Tuesday are 60%, the weather service said.

The sun will finally return on Wednesday, and there is a 30% chance of rain and snow on Thursday.

This storm "may end up a bit warmer as the heights along the east coast look higher. However, confidence is very low at this time on these details," the weather service said.