Long Island weather: Finally, an August weekend without rain

Meteorologists may use language such as dry skies, tranquil weather and comfortable humidity levels to describe the next few days.

But other Long Islanders could see it as happy dance time — a welcome, though brief, reprieve from the month’s showery, hot and muggy days.

“Good beach and boating weather into the weekend,” said News 12 Long Island meteorologist Rich Hoffman.

That’s as Friday and Saturday should have sunny skies with temperatures rising to the upper 70s and low to mid-80s, minus the mugginess. Sunday could see a few more clouds, but should still have mostly sunny skies, as well as humidity starting to build in, though there is no mention of rain, the National Weather Service said.

For Long Islanders, that means the final weekend of August is expected to be the first — and only — of the month to be precipitation-free, as rain has put a damper on five of six of the month’s previous Saturdays and Sundays.

August, as of Wednesday, has brought 6.15 inches of rain to Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma — 3.27 inches above normal for that stretch — along with temperatures averaging 3.8 degrees above normal, according to weather service data. Behind that has been a persistent weather pattern that's brought up warm, muggy air from the tropics.

The relief is short-lived, though, as Hoffman said to look for “hot and humid weather to start next week.”

That's hot, as in highs in the upper 80s for much of the Island, with the low 90s closer in to New York City, the weather service said in its late Thursday afternoon forecast.