Long Island forecast: No rain but lots of heat Wednesday and Thursday

Local forecasters said that Wednesday and Thursday should offer a brief respite from what has been so far one of the soggiest Augusts on record.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Upton expect both days to be dry but hot, with daytime temperatures toggling between the high 80s and low 90s.

Less humidity midweek will be a stark contrast from the past several days.

The rainfall tally at the close of the day on Monday marked a milestone: August 2018, a few days shy of the halfway point, was the fifth wettest on record. At Long Island MacArthur Airport, 4.95 inches of rain have been measured — some 3.28 inches above normal, said Faye Morrone, a meteorologist at the weather service. At the weather service’s office in Upton, 8.63 inches were measured, Morrone said.

The wet weather has wreaked some havoc, authorities said, especially over the past several days, ranging from road closures to flooded basements.

Stranded drivers were rescued from vehicles stalled in water. Southold saw flooding in its low-lying areas, though there was no damage to homes, according to Supervisor Scott Russell.

Earlier in the month strong thunderstorms with lightning caused fires, power outages, and service disruptions for Long Island Rail Road riders.

On Monday LaGuardia Airport reported more than 330 canceled flights.

Travel problems continued on Tuesday. At LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, departures for some flights were delayed for nearly two hours while arrivals were set back about half an hour.

American Airlines reported canceling 60 out of 173 flights out of LaGuardia, and four out of 100 scheduled flights from Kennedy, spokesman Justin Franco said.

Delta Air Lines officials canceled as many as 160 flights out of LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark airports, spokeswoman Adrian Gee said.

But Jay Engle of the weather service said the commotion in the skies should die down with Wednesday and Thursday’s warm weather. It is expected to return Friday, however, with more thunderstorms and showers, making August 2018 even wetter.

— Staff Writer Kadia Goba contributed to this report