Twin threats Franklin, Idalia pose danger of high waves, rip currents for Long Island, NWS says
The Atlantic's first major hurricanes of the season are expected to generate high surf and dangerous rip currents at Long Island beaches as early as Tuesday and continuing through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
The disturbances at the shore could continue through the weekend, as Idalia, now upgraded to hurricane status, moves up the coast from Florida.
Neither Hurricane Franklin, located about 370 miles west-northwest of Bermuda Tuesday morning, nor Idalia, about 325 miles south-southwest of Tampa and moving at 14 mph Tuesday toward Florida's Big Bend, is expected to directly affect conditions on Long Island, according to David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.
But Stark said 5- to 7-foot waves are possible midweek because of swells generated by Franklin.
The weather service stipulated that conditions on the Eastern Seaboard could bring an "extreme threat to life" from rip currents for surfers.
"Wave conditions in the surf zone support extreme rip currents (very strong and very large) which are of significantly greater than average intensity," the weather service said. "It will be dangerous for anyone entering the surf due to the overwhelming strength of the seaward pull."
The weather service said there is a chance of rain Tuesday and Wednesday on Long Island unrelated to either storm that has the potential to bring minor coastal flooding in the western South Shore bays.
While Franklin is expected to move farther out into the ocean on Thursday or Friday, the weekend brings the potential for additional high swells and dangerous rip currents from Idalia, which was expected to intensify into a hurricane later Monday.
The National Hurricane Center said Idalia is forecast to become a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches Florida's Gulf Coast as early as Wednesday with "life threatening storm surge and dangerous winds becoming increasingly likely" for the region.
The storm's path is not expected to pass near New York.
As for Long Island, Stark said, "There may be two different periods here where we may see dangerous rip currents and high surf at the beaches from two different systems that aren't directly impacting us."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
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