Long Island weekend weather forecast: Rain ahead, fire alert still in place Friday

After a long stretch of drought, rain will return to Long Island this weekend — amid Friday’s red flag warning, the National Weather Service said.

The warning, which affects Long Island, New York City and the lower Hudson Valley, is in effect from from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.

Brian Ciemnecki, an NWS meteorologist, said people should avoid creating open fires, such as at campgrounds and in fire pits, and should avoid throwing cigarette butts out the window.

"Any fire that does begin, we could see rapid, rapid spread," he said.

Long Island hasn’t had measurable rain in quite a long time, causing the environment to be severely dry, Ciemnecki said.

September and October were two of the driest months on record for Long Island. The U.S. Drought Monitor has put the Island in a "moderate drought" status, the second of six stages of drought in the country.

But other factors such as Friday’s low relative humidity of around 30% and expected wind gusts of 25 to 30 miles per hour could concoct a perfect combination for fires.

Temperatures will reach highs of upper 60s on Friday, and then cool down through the weekend with highs in the mid 60s for Saturday and the low 60s on Sunday.

Dry conditions will also continue through Saturday and most of Sunday, so it's possible the warning could continue into the weekend, Ciemnecki said.

Between a quarter and a half inch of rain is forecast for late Sunday night into Monday morning — not a significant amount, but providing at least some relief. Precipitation may also return later next week.

"Anything will help at this point," Ciemnecki said.