Long Island forecast: More rain on the way in an unusually wet May

If it feels like May has been more rainy than normal, you're probably onto something.

As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service recorded about 3.9 inches of rain at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma for May — 1.08 inches above the normal amount for the month, with 10 days of precipitation.

The average recorded rainfall on Long Island for May is 2.81 inches.

Joe Pollina, a NWS meteorologist, said the last time Long Island had a fully dry weekend was April 19-20.

"It has been relatively unsettled as of late," he said.

Other regions around the state are also experiencing excessive rainfall. According to the State Weather Risk Communication Center at the University at Albany, the last weekend the capital region went without at least a trace amount of precipitation was on Nov. 16-17, the Times Union reported.

But for Long Island, May's precipitation helped to close a gap in our below-average annual rainfall, Pollina said.

Since Jan. 1, the weather service recorded 14.95 inches of rain; typically, we should have at least 18.33 inches by this time of year, experts said.

"We were more than 3 inches below normal earlier," Pollina said of total rainfall in April. "This is well-needed rainfall."

Despite the rain, May temperatures have been 2.4 degrees above normal, Pollina said.

A stretch of warm temperatures kicked off the month as May 2-3 had highs of 84 and 87 degrees respectively.

Pollina said May 10-13 and May 15-18 also had above-normal to normal temperatures.

Due to recent precipitation, the service recorded below-average temperatures from May 19 through Memorial Day.

"A lot of people think we’re in spring, we should see temperatures in the 80s — but not on Long Island," Pollina said. "We don’t see 80-degree temps until June."

As for the coming summer season, don’t be surprised if you need an umbrella.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts Long Island has a 33% to 40% chance of above-average rainfall in June, July and August.

However, the service predicts dry, sunny weather after a stretch of rainy days at the end of May.

There is a 90-100% chance of seeing rain on Wednesday night on Long Island, forecasters say. On Thursday, the chance of rain will begin dropping off as the day goes on. 

While Friday night may see a slight chance of rain, Saturday morning and afternoon have a 50% to 60% chance of showers.

Sunday, June 1, will be the first day of a stretch of dry weather, with a high of 70.

"It won’t be a total washout," Pollina said of the weekend weather forecast.

Newsday’s Tiffany Cusaac-Smith contributed to this story.