Long Island weather: Memorial Day weekend starts sunny, turns rainy Saturday

Memorial Day is set to be warm and sunny on Long Island, but rain is expected on Saturday and the risk of dangerous rip currents continues to grow on the South Shore, according to the National Weather Service.

Saturday morning will be mostly sunny giving way to a high daytime temperature of 65 degrees. The chance for rain Saturday afternoon increased overnight compared to predictions on Friday, according to NWS meteorologist James Tomasini.

"There is maybe just a little bit higher chance for showers today across Long Island for the afternoon, closer to a 25% chance of some showers. We’re still looking at highs in the mid-60s," he said, adding that Saturday’s nighttime temperature will get "down into the low 50s, potentially upper 40s in some spots."

Sunday and Memorial Day are expected to be sunny with a temperature floating around 70 degrees. But residents planning a beach trip should be wary of swimming in the ocean due to continued NWS warnings of rip currents all along the South Shore.

Rip currents are "powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water" that can sweep beach goers away from the shore, according to the National Ocean Service.

The Weather Service’s rip current warning "did get updated to a high-risk for" Saturday, which had previously been labeled as a "moderate risk" Tomassini explained. He added that there is also a new, "moderate-risk" rip current advisory for Sunday.

The meteorologist said rip currents can only be forecast about 48 hours in advance, so it’s not yet clear whether the hazard will persist into Memorial Day.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.