Western Nassau goes to 'severe drought' status, NWS forecast for next week stays dry

Western Nassau County was deemed to be in severe drought status Thursday, and the National Weather Service forecast for the next week shows no chance of rain.

While a red flag warning was lifted Thursday, Long Island was still at risk of wildfires starting and spreading, officials said.

Thursday afternoon, the weather service issued a special weather statement for Long Island plus other areas of New York and New Jersey for Friday, plus a fire weather watch for Saturday. Humidity minimums could reach as low as 20% and northwesterly winds are anticipated to gust upward of 20 mph Friday and 25 mph Saturday.

"This will lead will to increased fire spread if ignition occurs," the alerts read.

Thursday morning, firefighters in Suffolk County battled a brush fire in a wooded area along the eastern edge of Route 112, north of Granny Road, in Coram, authorities said. Firefighters from Coram and seven other area departments fought the blaze, which was reported at 10:36 a.m. Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services officials said the blaze was under control shortly after noon.

The difference between these alerts and the red flag warning with which Long Islanders have become well acquainted in recent weeks is comparable to the distinction between those winter storm watch and winter storm warning alert levels residents tune into each snowy season, according to Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the weather service's Upton office.

"The criteria is the same in terms of the risk for fire spread," Engle said. "It's just a matter of confidence because you are a little farther out in time ... As you get closer your confidence is higher."

Clear, sunny conditions were expected through Wednesday evening, when there is 40% chance of showers, with highs in the mid-50s Friday and then the low 60s through the weekend.

Overnight, the FDNY had been forced to draw water from the Harlem River while battling a brush fire in the Inwood Section of upper Manhattan. That fire has been contained, authorities said. Also this week, a Bronx wildfire disrupted Amtrak service out of Penn Station.

Much of downstate New York, including much of Long Island, is still at the D1 — or, moderate drought — level, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor website, which raised the level to "severe drought" for western Nassau as well as the five boroughs.

The weather service also issued a coastal flood warning for the North Shore from Nassau to western Suffolk, in effect from 7 a.m. Thursday to 1 p.m. Friday. The service warned that coastal flooding also is possible along the South Shore through Friday morning. 

With Nicholas Grasso

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.”