Long Island weather: Potential for thunderstorms

After what is expected to be a clear, sunny Wednesday, here comes the rain again.

Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Center issued a flood watch for Long Island Thursday into Friday.

“Rainfall with an approaching system may be heavy at times through Thursday before gradually decreasing from west to east Thursday night,” the advisory said. “Thunderstorms with locally heavier rainfalln rates are possible, especially during the afternoon.”

And with rain that already fell Monday into Tuesday, the service warned of “saturated conditions, with any new rainfall expected to exacerbate already swollen rivers,” citing a predicted total rainfall of around one and a half to two inches, with “locally higher amounts possible with thunderstorms.”

Wednesday’s forecast is for lots of sun with highs in the upper-50s and light winds. The rain won’t arrive until after midnight, the service said, and it could be accompanied by patchy fog that could last into the morning, with the heavier rainfall predicted for Thursday afternoon.