Spring arrives Tuesday; week ahead to be chilly, forecasters say
Margaret Ross and Vince Silverio, of East Norwich, take advantage of the warmer-than-usual weather Sunday to feed seagulls at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay. Credit: Rick Kopstein
This week brings the start of spring for Long Island and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere — a bit earlier in 2024 than in years past.
Although, based on the recent stretch of daytime highs hitting the 60s, it has felt more like late April than mid-March.
“Right now, halfway through the month, it’s the warmest March on record for Islip,” said Dominick Ramunni, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “It's been 10 degrees above normal on average, which is absolutely incredible. It certainly feels like spring is early.”
As it happens, the vernal equinox — the day when the sun crosses the earth’s equator, and the hours of day roughly equal the hours of night — is indeed arriving early this year, on March 19. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the autumn equinox.
After an early-spring-like Sunday on Long Island, where the high crossed the 60-degree mark and a low was forecast overnight of about 38, Monday will see another round of bright sunshine and a few clouds, according to the weather service. The high Monday is forecast to top out at around 51 degrees, with an overnight low of 33.
Spring arrives at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday, where the daytime high will be about 46 degrees with plenty of wind and a low of 36 at night. Wednesday will reach 50 but drop to 30 at night, and Thursday will be breezy with a high near 44 degrees, and down to about 28 at night, forecasters said.
Friday and Saturday bring a chance of rain or snow.
“Hopefully people haven’t put away that winter coat,” Ramunni said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the recent timing of the spring equinox.
