90s predicted for start of LI's summer

If you're wondering when it's going to start to feel like summer, you don't have long to wait.

Temperatures will hit the 90s -- about 10 to 15 degrees higher than the average temperature for this time of year -- the day after summer officially begins this week, Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday's highs were to reach only in the mid-60s, thanks to persistent winds off the ocean that have kept temperatures low, said meteorologist David Stark. Lows will be in the mid- to upper 50s, he said.

On Monday, expect partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low to mid-70s, with lows in the upper 50s and lower 60s, he said.

Tuesday brings a taste of warmer weather, with temperatures in parts of western Long Island near 80 degrees, Stark said. Lows on Tuesday are to be in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

Wednesday, the day before the official start of summer, will bring the first blast of real heat, with highs forecast for the lower 90s and lows in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Highs on Thursday could reach the mid-90s in some parts of the island, Stark said.

With the heat comes increased humidity.

"It'll have that humid feeling in the air," Stark said.

The two-day heat streak will come from a shift in winds that will bring warm air from the south, he said. The record high measured at Long Island-MacArthur Airport for June 20, the official start of summer for 2012, was 93 degrees in 1995 and June 21 in 1998, Stark said.

The midweek heat doesn't necessarily portend a sizzling summer, Stark said, adding that it's impossible to predict what the summer will be like from the weather on two days in June.

Temperatures are forecast to fall on Friday with the arrival of a cold front near the region, bringing temperatures down to the lower 80s with a chance of precipitation, he said.