Record-setting warm temperatures expected Saturday, but Halloween could be cold and rainy, NWS says

Some parts of Long Island saw record-high temperatures Friday, and Saturday is forecast to be even warmer.

But is this spate of sunny weather just before Halloween a treat or a trick?

Friday's high of 76 in Islip broke a record that was set there in 1971 by one degree, according to the National Weather Service. LaGuardia Airport saw a new record high of 80 Friday. The previous record of 76 was set in 1947.

The service is predicting we'll get one last taste of summertime weather Saturday, when temperatures are likely headed for the upper 70s again — possibly, a second day of record-setting warmth — before the thermometer snaps us all back to the realities of fall.

The weather service is predicting a high of about 77 degrees Saturday.

The record high for the date, recorded at Islip in 1971, is 75 degrees. The all-time low is 30 degrees, set in 1976. The records at Islip date back to 1963.

The all-time high recorded in Central Park, whose records date to 1868, is 83 degrees, set in 1919. The all-time low for the date in Central Park is 29 degrees, recorded in 1976. The predicted temperature for Saturday in Central Park is 78 degrees.

But then after seven straight weekends with some trace of rain, Long Islanders are in for some more bad news for the rest of weekend — with showers and much cooler temperatures in the forecast for Sunday and even threatening Halloween plans on Tuesday.

For those living in coastal communities in southern Nassau, the service also issued a coastal flood advisory Friday evening, effective from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday. It warned of "brief minor flooding of the more vulnerable locations near the waterfront and shoreline," with "up to one half foot of inundation above ground level expected." 

Still, Saturday's mostly sunny and warm forecast has some organizers of events planned for that day bracing for higher than normal crowds, as Long Islanders try to take advantage of the break in the bad weather. For instance, state parks will host the Great Jack-O'-Lantern Sail Saturday afternoon at Belmont Lake State Park starting at 3 p.m.

New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Long Island Regional Director George Gorman said the event usually draws a crowd of about 5,000, but given the forecast, crowds could exceed 10,000.

Consider Saturday one last hurrah for the year. Because, according to forecast predictions, when it comes to temperatures, it's likely all downhill from here.

The predicted high for Sunday? Try 55 degrees.

And temperatures for next week all figure to go from a high of 62 degrees on Monday to temperatures in the low-to-mid 50s the rest of the week — including 53 degrees on Halloween.

Scary, right?

The weather service is also calling for showers not only on Sunday, but also Monday and possibly on Tuesday, which is Halloween. There does figure to be sunshine on Wednesday and Thursday, but the highs both days will be right around 50 degrees, the weather service said.

Nighttime temperatures next week could drop into the upper 30s.

And to think winter doesn't even begin until Dec. 21.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”