Long Island weather: Dry, nice Tuesday before rain returns

A pleasant, sunny Tuesday is to give way to warmer temperatures and rising humidity Wednesday, which also brings increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms into the overnight hours, forecasters say.

“It’s warm, it’s humid,” said Geoff Bansen, News 12 meteorologist, referring to Wednesday.  Also, “we’ll see some thunderstorms building to the west,” expected to move in overnight into Thursday. There’s potential for the area to see some heavy rain, he said.

Wednesday, featuring “a good deal of clouds,” sees “chances for rain increasing by the afternoon” with an isolated thunderstorm possible for the afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service said. Look for some steady rainfall at night, heavier with any thunderstorms.

Having hit 70 degrees Tuesday at MacArthur Airport, temperatures aren’t expected to take that regular dive overnight, with Long Islanders waking up to the upper 50s or low 60s Wednesday. Look for a warm -up during the day to the high 70s or so. The airport’s normal high for the day is 74.

Rain becomes less widespread by early morning Thursday, set to be a “decent day,” Bansen said, with partly sunny skies, though a pop-up thunderstorm could enter the picture. Highs in the mid- to upper 70s are expected.