Record low temperature, 22 degrees, set Wednesday at Islip

A daily record low of 22 degrees was set Wednesday at Long Island MacArthur Airport, the National Weather Service said.

Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki of the service's Upton office said the temperature at about 6 a.m. erased the previous record low of 23 in 1997 in Ronkonkoma.

Shortly before noon the temperature was up 10 degrees -- right at the freezing mark -- under sunny skies, according to the weather service.

Slightly colder than normal temperatures are in store for Nassau and Suffolk counties through early Friday, the service said, because Long Island is caught between high pressure building from the south and a departing low-pressure system.

Joe Pollina, also a meteorologist from Upton, called the expected cold snap "nature's air conditioning."

Wednesday highs are forecast to be in the mid 30s, with nighttime lows dropping slightly to about 30, the service said.

Brisk winds that gusted near 30 mph on Tuesday weaken; west winds Wednesday are expected to be 11 to 13 mph.

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On Thursday, warming continues as daytime highs climb to the low 40s, with winds shifting to the southwest between 11 and 15 mph.

Thursday night, however, winds increase with gusts as high as 28 mph. Windchill values will make nighttime temperatures feel between 25 and 35 degrees.