After rain, temps to drop on Long Island

Thursday's drizzle and light showers will usher in a cold front, bringing two days of below average temperatures, forecasters said.

Rainfall, expected to amount to just 0.10 to around 0.40 of an inch, will do nothing to relieve the area's "moderate drought" conditions determined by the U.S. Drought Monitor, said Tim Morrin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, based in Upton.

The Long Island Rail Road reported delays of 10- to 15-minutes on the Ronkonkoma branch because of "slip-slide" conditions. That's "where train wheels slip while accelerating, or slide during braking -- from the oily residue left by crushed leaves on the rails," the LIRR said.

Temperatures, meanwhile, are expected to drop from Thursday's 60 degrees at Long Island MacArthur Airport, to the upper 40s for much of Friday and Saturday, with a high of 50, Morrin said. That's around 5 degrees below normal, he said.

Friday is expected to be breezy and mostly sunny, with Saturday partly sunny. Look for normal temperatures in the mid-50s for Sunday, he said.