NYC Weather: Storm To Create Slushy, Icy Weekend Mess

NEW YORK — Winter is here, and it's going to make a mess. A winter storm will blanket New York City with snow, ice, sleet and rain over the weekend before savagely cold temperatures arrive, forecasters say.

The city will be under a winter storm watch from noon Saturday until 6 p.m. Sunday. The system could dump as much of six inches of snow on the city as well as ice, sleet and freezing rain, the weather service warns.

"Travel could be very difficult at any point during the storm," the weather service says. "Rapidly falling temperatures Sunday afternoon into the evening could cause any standing water to quickly freeze over."

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The snowfall could start as early as Saturday afternoon but will be heaviest that evening, with more than 3 inches to hit Central Park from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to the weather service. Saturday will see a high temperature near 34 degrees with wind chill values between 25 and 30, the weather service's forecast says.

Some liquid rain will be sandwiched between two periods of sleet and freezing rain on Sunday morning, with more snow possible in the afternoon, the forecast shows.

The mercury will drop throughout Sunday and hit an overnight low of just 8 degrees as a blast of Arctic air slams the eastern U.S., forecasters say.

Sub-zero wind chills as cold as -10 degrees will set in early Monday morning and last into the afternoon, according to the weather service, making for a frigid Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Here's a closer look at what to expect from the weekend storm, courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Friday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight.

Saturday
Snow likely, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values between 25 and 30. North wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Saturday Night
Snow before 1am, then freezing rain and sleet between 1am and 4am, then rain and sleet after 4am. Low around 31. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. East wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Sunday
Rain, freezing rain, and sleet before 1pm, then a chance of snow, freezing rain, and sleet between 1pm and 4pm, then a slight chance of snow after 4pm. Temperature falling to around 24 by 5pm. North wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 8.

Monday (MLK Day)
Sunny and cold, with a high near 17.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 10.

Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.

(Lead image: A man walks on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in the snow on April 2, 2018. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)