Long Island weather: Cool and cloudy, then rain

Saturday’s overcast may indeed bring rain in the afternoon, mainly between noon and 4 p.m., but the East End may escape any showers.

The higher "probability of precipitation will be towards...north and west of New York City," with lower odds across southeast Connecticut and eastern Long Island, where mainly dry conditions are anticipated, the National Weather Service said.

And look for the rather cool — for spring — temperatures to continue, with Saturday’s daytime high climbing no higher than 57 degrees, and thermometers sticking in the low to mid-60s through Friday, the weather service said.

The weather service's Weather Prediction Center explained that "broad upper-level troughing will keep temperatures well below normal from across the northern tier states to much of the eastern U.S. today before a warm-up in the Southeast to Carolinas on Sunday."

That same system is expected to bring severe storms Saturday to much of the country’s mid-section.

A trough is an "elongated area of relatively low atmospheric pressure," the weather service says.

Long Islanders, however, can anticipate Saturday night’s clouds to slowly lift away.

Still, Sunday favors getting up and about in the morning. There is a 30% chance that showers return early Sunday afternoon, after 2 p.m., the weather service advised.

"A sunny start to the day Sunday will transition to mostly cloudy during the afternoon with some initial rain making its way into western parts of the region, including northeast New Jersey, Lower Hudson Valley, New York City, western Long Island and southwest Connecticut," the weather service said.

Sunday night could also be rainy — the odds of showers are 80%, mainly after 8 p.m.

And Monday morning should be soggy, mostly before 8 a.m. Odds of rain are 60%.

Tuesday through Thursday, however, are expected to be mostly sunny, thanks to a high pressure system, the weather service said.

Blue skies can result from high pressure systems because the air tends to dry and cool as it falls to the ground. In contrast, water vapor can condense into rain with low pressure systems, as air cools as it rises.

By Thursday night, another storm system may sweep in. The odds of rain are 40%, and those same chances of showers are predicted for Friday.