The third winter storm in 10 days is bearing down on the East Coast, threatening to coat New York City with several inches of snow and dump more than a foot on Boston.

New York could get 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) by early Tuesday, with more falling on eastern Long Island and coastal Connecticut, the National Weather Service said. Between 12 and 17 inches may hit Boston and eastern Massachusetts.

“This is not a big deal for New York City, but maybe a decent storm for eastern Long Island and the Connecticut coast east of New Haven,” said Rob Carolan, meteorologist with Hometown Forecast Services Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire.

It will be the third winter storm to rake the East Coast since March 2. The first knocked out power to more than 2 million people from Ohio to Maine and caused devastating flooding to coastal Massachusetts. The second dropped snow by the foot in New Jersey and across the lower Hudson River Valley.

‘Plowable Event’

The third system is forecast to arrive in New York late Monday, with rain that gradually changes to snow, Carolan said. The bulk will fall overnight. Snow will start in Boston late Monday and continue through Tuesday. Winter storm warnings are in effect from Long Island to Maine. New York City, northern New Jersey and portions of Vermont are under a winter weather advisory.

“It is going to be a plowable event,” said Bill Simpson, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “If people can telework, it is probably a good idea.”

The forecast could change as the storm continues to take shape.”Fifty miles one way or the other — even 20 miles one way or the other — could make a big difference,” Simpson said.

On the positive side, every day the sun climbs higher in the sky and stays there for more hours. That makes it harder for snow to stick and could bring an end to the pattern of storms, Carolan said. Spring arrives March 20.

“Sooner or later,” Carolan said, “the sun will start to take over.”