Sunny skies, mid 70s in Wednesday's forecast

Sunny skies will be the rule for the next few days, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

Because of a lingering high-pressure system, Long Islanders can expect "clear, sunny skies and light southerly winds" through Friday, the Upton-based service said.

Once the system moves east, a cold front slides in, bringing with it only a mild threat of precipitation, said Peter Wichrowski, a meteorologist with the service.

He said the high-pressure system "drifts over the area today and will remain through Thursday and into Friday." The approaching cold front will bring some cloudy skies, but most of the major precipitation should be west of New York City, he said.

"For Long Island, it's quite possible we won't see any shower activity until Sunday," he said.

The chance for rain Saturday and Sunday is about 40 percent, the service said.

The lingering high means daytime temperatures in the low to mid 70s with low humidity. Nightly lows could dip into the 40s.

At 5 a.m. Wednesday the service said the low was 45 at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, 2 degrees shy of the daily record low of 43 in 1990.