Long Island weather: Cold early Wednesday, then a warm-up

It’s back to the 40s and even the 50s, temperature-wise, for Long Island, accompanied later Wednesday into Thursday by rain, heavy at times, with wind gusts possible, forecasters said.

The warm-up follows a brief frigid excursion late Sunday through early Tuesday into single-digit temperatures and below-zero wind chills.

Wednesday is expected to start out with early-morning temperatures in the low 20s and a wind chill making it feel like the mid- to upper teens, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures rise to the mid-40s later Wednesday and, instead of cooling down overnight, they just keep climbing to the low 50s by Thursday morning.

A chance of rain starts Wednesday night,  then it's rain likely into Thursday, the weather service said.

The system is “not going to be a big, big deal, but there could be some downpours Thursday morning,” said Rich Von Ohlen, News 12 meteorologist.

After that, he said, look for dry, cold air to return Friday.