Long Island remains under 'red flag' warning; Halloween forecast looking good

Trick-or-treaters can expect a warm and sunny Halloween this year — perhaps the warmest on record for Long Island, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

But before that, Long Island is under a "red flag" warning over concerns of wind-whipped wildfires and unusually dry conditions.

Forecasters said Monday will be sunny with highs near 60 with increasing clouds overnight. 

Then, the service is calling for 20% chance of light rain after 2 p.m. Tuesday, partly sunny, with a high near 65, with southeast winds of 5 to 10 mph.

Temperatures will rise throughout the week, hitting the mid-70s on parts of the island by Thursday afternoon with conditions 15 to 20 degrees above normal for late October, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dominic Ramunni.

"We’re forecasting close to the warmest Halloween on record at this point," he said.

October has also been "remarkably dry," Ramunni added, with just a tenth of an inch of precipitation falling in the region so far this month. That puts Long Island on track to potentially experience its driest month on record.

Despite the hot, dry conditions, the weather service expects the risk of brushfires to decrease throughout the week, especially by Tuesday, when there could be some rain, Ramunni said.

The service issued a special weather statement on Sunday warning the region of an elevated risk of fire spread due to low relative humidity and "dry fuels." While the statement is in effect, the agency strongly discourages outdoor burning.

The weather service plans to extend that statement through Monday, Ramunni confirmed. 

The weather service also issued a red flag warning on Saturday to indicate "imminent danger of severe fire weather," according to the National Weather Service website.

"The winds have died down since yesterday, so the threat isn’t quite as potent as it was, but still, given the dry conditions, the low relative humidity today and perhaps again tomorrow, certainly there’s an elevated threat for fire spread," Ramunni said Sunday.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.