Long Island avoids storm's worst, improving conditions ahead

Warnings of potential flash floods, severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes coincided with Long Island's Tuesday afternoon commute. But as the evening wore on, it appeared the region would avoid the worst, with improving conditions by Wednesday afternoon, and even some sunshine, according to the latest forecast.

Showers and thunderstorms with the potential "to produce heavy rainfall" were likely overnight into early Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. The high Wednesday should top out about 82 degrees, dropping to 64 in the evening.

"There are still some isolated spots receiving heavy rain," weather service meteorologist Joe Pollina told Newsday about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. "I see on the radar north of us in Brookhaven, heavy rain on the North Shore of Suffolk County. And on the South Shore of Nassau County there's heavy rain, but it's very isolated ... More rain is on the way, but I don't know that we're going to see a lot of this heavier rain."

A tornado watch remained in effect for Nassau County until 9 p.m. Tuesday but none had been reported on Long Island.

The weather service also issued a flash flood warning for northern Nassau and northwest Suffolk County through 7:30 p.m. There were no reports of significant flooding in either Nassau or Suffolk by late Tuesday evening.

Overnight into Wednesday, the weather service forecast "about a quarter of an inch of rain."

"We can see some rain through Wednesday, into the night," Pollina said. "But it looks like passing showers that will bring a few hundredths of an inch each time. [Wednesday] would have been the day we see the highest rainfall."

To anyone considering a swim in South Shore waters, the weather service warned against it, issuing a dangerous rip current statement through Thursday evening. Anyone entering the surf zone should swim near a lifeguard, as rip currents "can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water," the agency said.