LI to get another inch of rain through Thursday; wind advisory

A nasty storm churning up ocean waters and generating some elements of a nor'easter moving northward delivered a stretch of steady rain to Long Island, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

About a half-inch of rain had fallen over Islip Wednesday evening and for most of the Island, another inch was expected through late Thursday night, said meteorologist Lauren Nash at the service's Upton office.

The weather service put out an "urgent weather message" at 9:23 p.m. saying there was a wind advisory in effect for "central and eastern sections" of Long Island until 2 a.m., with gusts of up to 45 mph possible that may down power lines and trees.

PSEG Long Island reported 5,255 outages at 11:25 p.m. Wednesday.

Joe Pollina, another Upton-based meteorologist, said fierce winds and driving rain from two converging systems north of Long Island would hit the region through Thursday.

The storm is a product of low pressure off the mid-Atlantic coast drifting slowly northeastward and an upper-level disturbance moving slowly eastward from Pennsylvania and southern New York, the service said.

Starting late on Friday, the systems move on, replaced by a cold front and building high pressure.

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"We start to see some clearing slowly during the day Friday, and then by late Friday night there are more clear skies, and by Saturday there is more sun than clouds," Pollina said.

Saturday and Sunday call for daily highs in the mid-60s with sunny skies, the service said.

The rain and wind continued to cause brief delays at some area airports Wednesday night. Kennedy Airport reported 16 to 30 minute delays in departures and arrival delays of less than 15 minutes. At LaGuardia Airport, arrivals and departures were delayed by up to 15 minutes.

With Ellen Yan