Long Island weather: Saturday temperature of 68 degrees sets record high

Golfing in December? On Long Island?

Maybe that’s one positive about global warming.

With the Island basking in record high temperatures Saturday, hundreds of golfers dusted off their clubs and hit the links.

At Merrick Road Park Golf Course, more than 200 people came to play in the warm sunshine — about the same number who show up on an average summer day, said employee Brian Probst.

Probst said the public course in Merrick is open year-round, except for major holidays, but typically draws “very few during winter.”

“It’s the green Christmas,” quipped Phil Zuhusky, assistant golf pro at the private Baiting Hollow Club on the East End, which drew about 80 golfers Saturday.

“I think we’re going to have a good day tomorrow, too,” he said.

Saturday’s high of 68 degrees, recorded at 12:41 p.m., broke the record for the day set in 2008, when the thermometer hit 60, said Upton-based National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Engle.

The forecast for Sunday calls for a high of 61 — one degree above the record set in 1990 — but it depends on the cloud cover.

“It’s going to get close. It could be a tie, or it could break it,” Engle said.

Few are complaining about the warm spell. Thursday’s high temperature matched the record of 61 degrees and a record-breaking 59 degrees was notched Friday, said Carlie Buccola, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Upton.

Warmer than average temperatures are expected to linger for a few days, she said.

With Joan Gralla