Long Island weather: Clear, cold until rain arrives Thursday

The Monday morning rush hour on Long Island will be marked by clear skies and cold temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. 

The forecast won’t change much for the next few days before winter officially arrives on Wednesday, the weather service added. 

“It’s going to be brisk and seasonably chilly right through Wednesday,” said Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Monday’s forecast calls for mostly clear skies with the high around 40 degrees, but with west winds of 10 mph to 15 mph. 

Monday night will bring mostly clear skies, and temperatures low will dip to about 30. Then both Tuesday and Wednesday look clear with the high right around 40 and lows in the upper 20s, the weather service said.

Rain arrives Thursday afternoon, when the day’s high should reach about 50 degrees with the low at night dropping to about 40. The rain is expected to continue until Friday night when it could end as a wintry mix, Engle said. The chance of precipitation on Friday stands at 80%, but the day will be warmer than usual with the high potentially in the mid-50s.

Then for the weekend, which will be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the forecast calls for cold weather but no snow.

“Right now, we’re not thinking white Christmas,” Engle said.