Below-normal temps expected until Sunday

It's cold, even for February.

That's what meteorologists at the National Weather Service said Wednesday, adding it will be Sunday before Long Island starts to see near-normal temperatures again.

Nassau and Suffolk were socked by a cold blast out of eastern Canada Wednesday morning, with a wind chill making it feel like the single digits, said weather service meteorologist and observation program leader Tim Morrin.

The day's high temperature was 28 degrees - the same figure expected Thursday. The normal high temperature this time of year is about 40 degrees, Morrin said.

"It's at least a 10-degree difference between reality and what is normal," Morrin said.

"This year has broken all the rules - like when we have a big snowstorm, it's usually followed by a period of moderation. This year, there's been no kind of reprieve. The weather pattern got locked in and it stayed locked in," he said.

Morrin said the average temperature for February is running about a half-degree colder than usual - and the fact it's even close is mostly thanks to a period earlier this week when temperatures soared into the 30s and 40s.

Melting snow from the above-freezing temperatures this week also led to "additional and unexpected patches of ice," Morrin told The Associated Press. "The rapid cool-down is close to a perfect recipe for this kind of icing."

The weather will stay frosty this week.

Wednesday night was to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 20, and Thursday will be mostly sunny with a high near 28 degrees, followed by a sharp dip to 12 degrees during the night; the weather service expects clear skies.

The rest of the week will have highs in the mid-30s and lows in the low 20s.

Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a high near 39. There is a chance of snow Monday, too.