State and town beaches to remain open, many with lifeguards on duty, into the warmer September, officials said

Warmer weather is keeping many state park beaches open through the middle of September, supervised by an extended-season staff of 150 lifeguards, and many local beaches will remain open as well — at least one through the end of the month.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory through Wednesday afternoon and evening for western Suffolk and Nassau, when it could feel as hot as between 95 and 100 degrees. Temperatures will remain in the high 80s and low 90s until this weekend before moderating to the high 70s next week.

There was a time, New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation regional director George Gorman recalled, when parks employees shooed would-be swimmers from the water come September — no lifeguards on duty after Labor Day, the summer beach season over.

No more.

“Back when I was a park worker, in my 20s, we used to fight the public to keep them out of the water for their own safety, because we didn’t have lifeguards on duty,” Gorman said Tuesday. “But, with the weather staying warmer longer … we made the decision years ago, probably the past two, three decades, to keep the beaches open.

"This is our new normal for Long Island state parks,” Gorman said. “We budget it, we plan for it — and we implement it."

For Long Island beachgoers, a handful of state parks — the West Bathhouse, Central Mall and Field 6 at Jones Beach; Robert Moses State Park; Hither Hills State Park; Wildwood State Park; and, Gov. Alfred E. Smith / Sunken Meadow State Park — will be open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Sept. 17.

Town beaches open this month

Three Town of Hempstead beaches — Point Lookout, Lido Beach and Lido Beach West — will have swimming 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Sept. 24, town officials said, with 60 to 70 lifeguards on duty.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin said: “Since 2020, we’ve extended beach season past Labor Day due to the growing number of beachgoers squeezing in those final days of summer.”

Tobay, the Town of Oyster Bay beach, will remain open two weekends — Sept. 9-10 and Sept. 16-17 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Main Beach in East Hampton will remain open through Wednesday, while Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett will remain open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Sept. 17. Ocean Beach at Bungalow Walk on Fire Island will remain open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays through the end of September

All Huntington Town beaches will be open for town residents, though no lifeguards will be on duty, for the forecast heat from Tuesday to Thursday, officials said. Cooling centers will be open those days at the Dix Hills Ice Rink 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and the Huntington Senior Center 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Elwood and Manor Field spray parks will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Warmer September

Forecasters at the National Weather Service said it's all due to warmer September weather.

Though Monday marked the first 90-degree day recorded at Islip in September since 2018, three of the warmest Septembers recorded in Islip have all been within the past 20 years, said weather service meteorologist Dominic Ramunni. The average September temperature has risen about 2 degrees at Islip since records were first kept in 1963.

“We’ve had 17 90-degree days at Islip in September since the 1960s,” Ramunni said, “and we had another one of those Monday — and may have two more this week.”

Ramunni said the lingering effects of Hurricane Idalia, now a tropical depression, are holding the current hot and humid weather pattern in place over Long Island. But by next week, he said, more typical September temperatures, maybe even temperatures below normal, will arrive.

“The mid-70s will be more like it,” he said. “That won’t be good for beachgoers. But, for those waiting for that taste of fall weather? It will be good.”

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”