Record-breaking warm weather on Long Island on Friday

Long Island set a record-high temperature Friday, with thermometers reaching an unseasonably warm 62 degrees.

The record was recorded at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip on Friday afternoon, breaking  the record of 56 degrees set last year, according to the National Weather Service. 

But the warm weather will be short-lived, as cooler temperatures are set to move in for the weekend, with showers possible overnight Sunday into Monday morning.

"These temperatures are more typical of April than February," said meteorologist Dominic Ramunni. "For those holding on hopes to winter, temperatures should be closer to normal next week, but still above normal in the 40s Saturday and Sunday."

Central Park and LaGuardia Airport also tied their 2001 records Friday of 61 and 60 degrees, respectively.

The same cannot be said for much of northern New England, where a low-pressure system was delivering snow or a wintry mix.

The weather service's Weather Prediction Center forecast cooler temperatures ahead.

“To the south of the wintry weather, widespread record high minimum temperatures are occurring along the entire East Coast ahead of the cold front trailing south from the low-pressure system. Cooler temperatures behind the front will be ushered into the eastern United States on Friday but they will still be above-normal by February standards.”

There is still no chance of snow in the near future, with rain in the forecast for the next two weeks.

"The remainder of the month could be above average," Ramunni said. "We could have a surprise snowstorm in March, but there's nothing on the horizon yet." 

New Yorkers can anticipate a sunny weekend, with daytime highs in the mid-40s. There is a 70% chance rain arrives very early Monday morning, with the odds falling to 40% before 1 p.m., the weather service said.

By Thursday, temperatures should rise to the mid-50s. 

The odds of these above-normal readings sticking around until Feb. 23 are 60% to 70%, the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday. And it could be a bit dry: the New York area’s chances for below-normal precipitation are 33% to 40%.

Why so warm?

One of the main factors for the warm weather is the La Niña weather system, as the polar winds for the moment appear confined to the arctic.

“It’s just what we’ve been seeing this winter with the La Niña pattern,” said weather service meteorologist James Tomasini. “The storm tracks are staying farther out, to our north and west, and leaving us on the warm side of these storms.”

The La Niña system, which has continued for a third year, arises when easterly trade winds strengthen by the equator, driving the Pacific Ocean toward Asia. This allows the sea’s coldest waters to rise to the surface off South America’s west coast, and the jet stream to veer north, toward the western U.S. states.

The opposite system, El Niño, develops when those trade winds weaken or even switch directions and blow from the west.

With less cold water lifted to the surface off Peru and its neighbors, that warmer water can “slosh” to the eastern Pacific, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

With John Asbury