Thunderstorms moving through Long Island, may produce flooding on South Shore, NWS says

Smoke-filled haze may not be a problem for Long Island on Friday. But storms are moving into the region, bringing plenty of rain.

The National Weather Service is watching thunderstorms heading onto Long Island on Friday afternoon that could produce hail and heavy rain in some areas — and possible flooding along the South Shore in Nassau and Queens.

The good news, the weather service said, is that there is zero surface smoke Friday from Canadian wildfires that wreaked havoc on the Island last week and are causing significant air quality issues right now across the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region.

The bad news is, the weather service said, is that "a complex of storms" that moved through the Ohio Valley Thursday night is hitting New Jersey on Friday, bringing wind and hail damage — and that the leading edges of those storms could cause similar damage, as well as flooding, on Long Island.

The weather service is calling for up to a 70% chance for showers during the day, with a high of about 80 degrees, and an 80% chance of "heavy rain and patchy showers," as well as fog, late Friday into Saturday. That rain will continue into Saturday before tapering off, the weather service said.

In a coastal flood statement in effect for Friday evening, the weather service warned of potential inundation of up to a half-foot above ground level in vulnerable waterfront and shoreline areas in southern Queens and southern Nassau. Potential impacts, the weather service said, are "brief minor flooding of the more vulnerable locations near the waterfront and shoreline."

Tidal departures — or, higher than normal tides as a result — could be as much as 2 feet above normal in some areas, the weather service said.

On Friday evening, the weather service said: "some of the storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain."

Those storms could continue overnight into Saturday, with thunderstorms likely before 8 a.m. Saturday, the weather service said. Expect cooler temperatures Saturday, with highs in the low 70s.

However, on Sunday and Monday —Father's Day and Juneteenth — Long Island should be bathed in mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”