Chilly night, whipping winds to feel like freezing temps

A flood watch for Suffolk County expired just before 4 p.m. Wednesday and the rain tapered off at about 8 p.m. - giving way to a chilly night and whipping winds that will make Thanksgiving Day temps feel way below freezing, meteorologists said.

A little more than 2 inches of rain fell over Islip since the start of precipitation Tuesday, according to data from the National Weather Service in Upton.

Rain and high winds from a coastal storm inconvenienced Thanksgiving travelers, making roadways slick and downing some trees and power lines.

But the incoming cold front is bringing plunging temperatures, ranging from an unseasonably low 26 to 36 degrees, with mostly clear and sunny skies through Sunday, the Upton-based service said.

It also pushed aside the storm, which provided rain, at times heavy, and gusty winds that subsided during the afternoon but picked up Wednesday night as temperatures fall.

"Once we see all this scoot on out, high pressure will be building in the area and it should be relatively dry," meteorologist Joey Picca said.

Temperatures through Sunday should range from daytime highs in the mid 30s and low 40s to nighttime lows in the mid 20s.

Picca said the strongest winds during the storm were recorded in Long Island Sound and the North Fork. Gull Island, off Orient Point, had winds of 59 mph; Fishers Island had gusts of 52 mph, Picca said.

Jericho recorded winds of 56 mph, and Farmingdale, Shirley and Captree State Park in Babylon each had winds at 47 mph.

"It's just about what we expected," Picca said of the winds.

The Long Island Power Authority's Storm Center website reported more than 10,500 weather-related outages at 6:48 a.m. Wednesday night, at 10:45 p.m. there were just 30 outages.

With Ellen Yan