Long Island weather: Rain, wind as Zeta remnants arrive Thursday

The remnants of Hurricane Zeta will be moving into the region Thursday, bringing with it possibly heavy rain, gusty winds and much cooler air in its wake, forecasters said.

Thursday will see those remnants combine with another system, revving up winds and producing downpours late in the day, the National Weather service said.

"Northeast winds will be at their strongest from Thursday night into Friday morning, gusting to 30 to 35 mph in the City and along the coast," the weather service said in its regional summary Wednesday afternoon.

"The storm system will pull away during Friday afternoon and evening, with clearing developing from west to east as high pressure build from the west. This will lead to dry and chilly weather to begin the weekend," the weather service said.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo put out a statement Wednesday evening warning residents about the storm's possible impact, which could mean snowy conditions for upstate.

"Southern areas of the state and lower elevations will likely experience an inch or more of rain and mixed precipitation, while New York City and Long Island could see up to two inches of rain and wind gusts of 40 mph," Cuomo said. "New Yorkers are urged to exercise caution as precipitation combined with cold temperatures may cause hazardous travel including slippery surfaces."

PSEG Long Island put out a statement Wednesday saying it is monitoring the storm and has done checks on its critical systems.

"Anticipating Hurricane Zeta could possibly affect Long Island with heavy rainfall and strong wind gusts, PSEG Long Island is ensuring extra supplies are on hand, including poles and transformers, and will have additional personnel ready to respond to any possible power outages the approaching storm brings," the PSEG Long Island release said.

PSEG Long Island said it may launch a change to its outage communications process whereby customers contacting the Call Center early in the storm will receive an "Assessing Conditions" message, instead of an estimated time of restoration.

"This change will allow crews to assess storm impact before issuing ETRs, thereby increasing the accuracy of the ETR information being provided," the release said.

Gale conditions are predicted for the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island starting Thursday evening, thanks partly to Zeta.

"By late Thursday night into Friday morning seas on the ocean will build to around 10 feet," the weather service said.

It added, "Gale conditions will likely continue on the ocean during the first half of Friday, followed by small craft conditions late in the day and evening."

Saturday’s Halloween, however, expected to be sunny. And after a chance of rain Sunday morning, Monday and Tuesday, Election Day, should be mostly clear and cool with highs knocking on the 50 degree mark.