Long Island weather: Unseasonably warm weather next 2 days before possible weekend snow

Gusty winds will combine with sunshine the next couple of days on Long Island for unseasonably warm weather to close out the workweek, forecasters said.

Thursday's high temperature of 56 degrees at Islip's Long Island MacArthur airport set a new record, the National Weather Service said. The old record was 54 degrees, set in 2001.

Those highs are about ten degrees above what's normal for this time of year, the weather service said.

Thursday night should be clear and just the below freezing mark, with winds that could gust up to 20 mph.

Friday features sunshine and a high of 50 degrees but the strong breezes will continue, with up to 24 mph gusts Friday night.

Saturday is forecast to be glorious for this time of year, with lots of sun and a high of about 52 degrees, the weather service said. But the 20 mph breezes will still be around and as night falls, so will the mercury.

Winter will return with a vengeance Saturday night into Sunday. Winds calm down overnight but the weather service predicts a 40% chance of snow between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. and a low temperature of 26 degrees.

Sunday could bring more snow, about a 50% chance, with a high of 32 degrees. Frigid temperatures will return, with overnight lows in the teens Sunday night.

Monday will be sunny, but still quite cold, with a high of just 27 degrees, forecasters said, and a low in the teens. Tuesday will also be clear but with a chilly high just above freezing.

With Nicholas Spangler