Storms don't leave much of mark on LI

The massive storm system that blasted parts of the South with tornadoes did little damage on Long Island Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

As the system moved east, it wilted under cooler ocean air, leaving behind only short bursts of heavy spring showers and mild wind gusts.

By the evening rush hour, Long Island was virtually storm free.

Among the hardest hit areas were Islip, with .45 inches of rainfall, and Farmingdale, which saw 40 mph winds Thursday morning. Most other areas barely got .20 inches, said meteorologist David Stark of the Upton-based weather service.

"The storm was part of the same system, but the overall air mass was not nearly the same," Stark said of a tornado-laced front that ravaged Southern states earlier this week. "It was in a much slower, weaker state."

In Nassau and Suffolk, no major storm-related damage or accidents were reported, police said. There were no major power outages, according to LIPA's website.

One factor accounting for the storm's weakened condition was a meeting with cooler, ocean air, Stark said. Generally speaking, Stark said, storms that move in from the South often weaken as they move north and east, partly because of a "marine influence."

The most severe weather in the region was seen in western New Jersey, he said.

Nassau County, which was projected to get severe thunderstorms, experienced mostly scattered showers.

Earlier Thursday, a severe thunderstorm watch had been issued by the service and heavy rain at a rate of up to an inch an hour was projected in parts of Nassau and Queens.