Bone-chilling cold sets record on LI

Quit that shivering, Long Islanders, warm weather is coming. Well, not exactly warm, but certainly not as cold as Monday's bone-chilling morning.

The temperature at Long Island MacArthur Airport hit 4 degrees at 6:43 a.m., making it the coldest Jan. 24 ever there. It was the coldest temperature recorded at the Ronkonkoma airport in two years and a week, forecasters said.

More normal January weather returns Tuesday, when temperatures go from the teens Monday night to the mid 30s, said Lauren Nash, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.

There's also a chance for a wintry mix, Nash said, starting Wednesday morning and into Thursday morning.

A storm system moving up from the southeast will bring a chance of snow Wednesday morning, then rain by the afternoon into the evening. On Wednesday night that rain may change back to snow into Thursday morning, forecasters said.

There is "potential for a moderate accumulation of snow," the weather service said in a hazardous weather outlook.

"It depends on where the low ends up tracking," she said of the front. There is a good chance, however, the precipitation will affect Thursday morning's commute, she said.

For Tuesday's warming trend, expect clouds to clear and the sun to shine, with a high of 38 degrees.

There's also a slight chance for a light snow - a dusting - early Wednesday morning, after about 4 a.m.

As for Monday's frigid temperatures, the last time MacArthur was that cold was Jan. 17, 2009, when it hit 2 degrees, according to the service. The coldest minimum temperature recorded there? Minus 7 degrees on Jan. 15, 1988 and Jan. 22, 1984.

It's already been a good old-fashioned winter, as meteorologists like to say.

The average temperature for the month of December was about 4.5 degrees below normal, and the average temperature for January is 4 degrees below normal for this time of year, forecasters say.

With John Valenti