The National Weather Service (NWS) warned about a "powerful Nor'easter is expected to develop off the Mid-Atlantic coastline on Friday before impacting eastern parts of the Northeast and New England this weekend." Heavy snow is expected across eastern Long Island/New England with gusty winds that could produce blizzard conditions. 

AccuWeather meteorologists believe the storm will strengthen into a "bomb cyclone," a weather pattern we noted on Wednesday that had a very strong possibility playing out across the Northeast late Friday into Saturday. As early as Monday, we told readers multiple meteorologists sounded the alarm on the possible development of the weekend storm. 

Now it appears the storm could dump as much as 36 inches in parts of Long Island and pummel Wantagh to Westhampton with 12 to 18 inches. New York City is on the edge of the storm and could receive six inches or fewer. 

Saturday snowfall rates per hour (at the height of the storm) could exceed 3 to 4 inches per hour in eastern Massachusetts. The latest snowfall total project map shows coastal areas will receive the heaviest snow.