Cold air out; wet and windy heading in

Cold weather is moving out and rain is moving in.

While Long Islanders felt the coldest day of winter Monday morning, when the thermometer dipped to 10 degrees in the Town of Islip, the National Weather Service said the frigid feeling was short term.

In fact, a warm front from the Midwest pushed the cold air out to sea by late Monday morning and was looking to replace it with wet, windy weather.

Meteorologist Lauren Nash of the Upton-based service said the season-low temperature was recorded at 6:44 a.m. at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, and it bettered the previous cold day of this winter, 14 degrees on Jan. 14.

For the next two or three days, Long Island will be unseasonably warm -- temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s -- wet and windy. But by Thursday night, when another front moves in, cold returns. And with it a 30 percent chance of snow. Thursday's low is expected to be about 28 degrees.

"Right now, it looks like limited moisture," said David Stark a meteorologist with the service.

Friday is likely to be clear and sunny, with a high of 36.

By noon on Monday, temperatures climbed to the 30s, with a high of 36 expected. Rain should start falling between 10 and 11 p.m., with a northwest wind kicking up to 14 mph with gusts as high as 29 mph.

The chance of precipitation for Monday night is 90 percent, the service said, with rainfall amounts approaching one-quarter of an inch.

Tuesday's high is expected to be 48 degrees, with a nighttime low of 38. Rain is likely to continue across most of Long Island.

By Wednesday, the rain is replaced by clear, cold weather -- but not quite as cold as the past weekend.

Wednesday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 41, and breezy, with a west wind between 20 mph and 22 mph. Wednesday night should be mostly clear, with a low of 22, the service said.