High rip-current risk on Long Island for Wednesday

Get ready, because blue skies and sunshine are right around the corner.

Aside from a slight chance of rain and a high risk of rip currents at ocean beaches Wednesday, Long Island is headed for a stretch of dry, warm conditions, thanks to an incoming high-pressure system, the National Weather Service said.

Lauren Nash, a meteorologist with the service's Upton office, said the large, airy system should set up over the Northeast starting Thursday, helping to push off a cold front that has kept conditions partly cloudy the past few days.

The result will be a terrific weekend for outdoor activity, with temperatures in the low to mid 80s, relatively low humidity levels and gentle winds from the north and west, Nash said.

But as the cold front dissipates, it will leave behind a slight chance of rain, about 30 percent, and partly cloudy skies for Wednesday and early Thursday, the service said.

"You can't rule out the chance of rain Thursday and maybe even early on Friday," Nash said. "But then the high pressure builds and sets up, staying through early next week."

Warm temperatures, slightly above normal, are still in store for most of Wednesday and Thursday, the service said.

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Beachgoers should be cautious; leftover swells from Bertha, downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, and surf height of 4 to 6 feet mean a high rip-current risk for ocean beaches from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, the service said.

Also, a small-craft advisory for South Shore water is in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

And then, the weekend of great weather heads for Long Island, Nash said.