Long Island weather: Blast of cold air Thursday, Friday

After a chance overnight Tuesday of scattered showers, possibly with some snowflakes mixed in, Wednesday goes on to bring sunny skies with highs around 40 degrees, forecasters say.

Better enjoy that while you can, as a blast of cold air moves in overnight Wednesday, bringing a chance of some scattered snow showers and driving temperatures down to the low 20s, the National Weather Service says.

That’s as highs during the day Thursday don’t get much higher than that, with the mid-20s forecast, said Jay Engle, weather service meteorologist, based in Upton.

Winds start picking up overnight Wednesday through Thursday, meaning wind chill becomes a factor, making it feel even colder, he said.

Thursday daytime’s wind chill could be in the mid- to upper single digits, he said, with overnight into Friday morning bringing a low temperature of about 11 degrees, but feeling more along the lines of zero to 5 degrees below zero.

There’s also potential for a record low temperature to be set Friday, with the present record of 10 degrees set in 1988, the weather service said.

Friday goes on to see highs around the mid-20s, but with less of a wind chill impact, as those blustery conditions diminish.

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Bitter cold conditions like these would be more typical of midwinter, said Rich Hoffman, News 12 Long Island meteorologist.

This particular cold burst is short-lived, however, with the weekend looking to bring highs in the mid-40s for Saturday, and around 50 for Sunday. Precipitation is also expected to be in the picture, with forecasters looking at the likelihood for mostly rain, Engle said.