Ophelia takes her time; rain, breezes and fog remain overnight from storm's remnants

The remnants of Ophelia are leaving the area, but she is taking her time.

The storm that made the weekend a washout was still hanging around Monday but her exit is in sight, the National Weather Service said.

Ophelia, once a tropical storm but now a tropical depression with a persistent, annoying combination of showers and strong breezes, "will pass south and east of Long Island through this afternoon, then continue to drift farther offshore tonight into Tuesday as high pressure gradually builds southward out of eastern Canada. The . . . [high-pressure system] should take control from Tuesday night into Wednesday," the National Weather Service said.

Monday afternoon, northeast winds are expected to ramp up a bit, gusting up to 31 mph, the weather service said, but rain will become lighter come evening, according to the forecast. 

Widespread fog, however, is also expected to pour into the region and complicate the Monday evening commute. It will continue to be breezy and cool, with a low of 57 degrees Monday night and a high of 64 degrees Tuesday. 

There is a 30% chance of rain Tuesday morning, then clouds dominate the rest of the day and — finally — the sun is expected to return Wednesday and Thursday with highs in the upper 60s.

New precipitation amounts of a quarter-inch to a half-inch are possible, the weather service said.

Dangerous rip currents and high tides are still likely through Tuesday evening, forecasters said. That warning is now limited to the south-facing beaches of Queens and Nassau counties. Some coastal flooding is still possible for low-lying areas, authorities said.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center is keeping watch over Tropical Storm Philippe, far off in the central tropical Atlantic. That system is likely to turn into a tropical depression around midweek as it moves west-northwest across the ocean. There is no indication, however, that it poses a threat to Long Island, the hurricane center said.