Some state parks filled to capacity, but beach attendance lower than expected

As of 1 p.m., several state parks are filled to capacity, according to regional state parks director George Gorman.

Orient Beach State Park and Wildwood State Park on the East End are filled to capacity.

Hempstead Lake is filled abut 80% to capacity, while Sunken Meadow State Park is at 90% capacity.

A steady stream of beachgoers are flowing into both Jones Beach and Robert Moses, though no backups or delays were reported, he said. At Jones Beach, Field 6 is filled to capacity but Gorman said there was "plenty of parking" in the rest of the park.

He said systemwide, beach attendance was slightly lower than parks officials anticipated.

"The beaches are a little bit lighter because of the heat wave," he said. Other July 4 events may also be having an impact on the number of beachgoers, he said.

High at Islip

93 degrees

That's four degrees short of the

record of 97

set in 2010

The high at Islip is 93 degrees, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Greenblatt. That’s four degrees short of the record set in 2010 at 97 degrees, though the hottest part of the day is still to come.

"It’s certainly possible that you get pretty close to the record this afternoon, but that would probably not occur for another few more hours," Greenblatt said on Saturday.

Forecasters are still keeping an eye on spotty storm chances that could threaten July 4 fireworks displays.

"There’s nothing on the radar at the moment, but expecting thunderstorms to fill into the area this evening, mainly after 6 p.m.," Greenblatt said.