Long Island weather: Temperature hits record high, but cool weather to return
Summertime temperatures Saturday bring out some sunbathers on Long Beach even though it's actually only early spring. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Summer came early on Long Island on Saturday as the temperature rose to a record high, but cooler weather typical of early spring should be back by Sunday.
The National Weather Service said the thermometer hit a record 82 degrees at 2 p.m. in Islip, 1 degree higher than the previous record high set in 1998. By 7:30 p.m. Saturday, however, the temperature had already slid down to 46 degrees.
For Saturday night, the weather service said the temperature will fall to about 42. There is also a 30% chance of rain, mainly after midnight.
Weather service meteorologist Matt Wunsch on Saturday morning called Saturday a "one-day, temporary warm-up" caused by "the warm front of the very large system that moved through the area last night."
Donna Orleman, left, and Annmarie Boyon, both of Seaford, stroll the boardwalk at Jones Beach early Saturday morning. Credit: Tom Lambui
"There's a lot of warm air sitting over the area," he said.
Sunday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a high of about 50 degrees, which would actually be 2 degrees cooler that normal.
"As we move into tonight and tomorrow, the front that pushed north last night, which is giving us the warmth today, pushes back south," Wunsch said. "Temperatures are going to cool off pretty substantially tomorrow. Highs are only going to be in the upper 40s to low 50s."
There is a high chance of rain from Sunday night through Monday night, when the temperatures are expected to range from the low 40s to the high 50s.
The weather should clear up Tuesday when temperatures are expected to be in the 50s.
"Before we get to Tuesday we’ll have a front come through — showers, maybe some thunderstorms," Wunsch said. "That should be ending by Tuesday morning. Then Tuesday will be mostly dry with highs from the low to mid 50s."
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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