Long Island breaks a temperature record for the date at 81 degrees; state issues wildfire alert
David Gevirtz, of Islip Terrace, kayaks on the Carmens River at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Long Island set a new temperature record Tuesday for the date, topping off at 81 degrees at Islip, in the second day of record-setting warmth in the region.
The unseasonable heat breaks the 1979 record of 77 degrees for Oct. 22 and comes on top of Monday's high of 77, breaking the mark of 76 degrees recorded for that date in 2017.
The warmth has only added to the region's unusually dry conditions, prompting New York State to issue an alert for a high risk of wildfires starting and spreading rapidly.
This continues a roller-coaster trend for Nassau and Suffolk, which two months ago saw record rains that caused flash flooding in some areas, followed by record-low precipitation since then. October has had not only a record-high temperature but two overnight lows in the 30s.
So far, October is shaping up to be the driest one on record at Islip, with just 0.10 inches of precipitation recorded so far. The record low precipitation for the month is 0.18 inches in 2000.
The weather service said the storm track that brings precipitation has been bottled up by Canadian high pressure over the Northeast. Thursday morning, the weather service said, there is a "slight chance for sprinkles" but no rain is forecast for the week.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, which evaluates drought conditions throughout the United States, has rated Long Island as "DO," or abnormally dry for more than a week now.
Officials at the drought center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln note this is the lowest level on their drought indicator charts and just above normal.
On the heels of the flash flooding barrage in August that saw more than 9 inches of rain deluge some Suffolk North Shore communities, Long Island saw rainfall well below average in September, recording just 0.24 inches of precipitation compared to the norm of 3.6 inches — the driest September ever on record for Islip, whose records date to 1963.
The weather service notes that since the start of September, Nassau and Suffolk have seen just a handful of days with any kind of precipitation and no rainfall in Islip since Oct. 7.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the lack of rainfall since the start of September has inched Long Island and the metro area toward an elevated risk of wildfires.
Though that risk is now considered high it remains well below the highest risk, which would be a "Red Flag" warning. Still, the DEC noted on its website the current level means: "Fires spread rapidly ... Fire may become serious and their control difficult unless they are attacked successfully while small."
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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