Long Island forecast: Nicole to bring weekend rain, wind

Long Island could be in for a rainy and gusty weekend, courtesy of Tropical Storm Nicole.

The storm, which was located about 360 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, as of Tuesday night, is likely to interact with or be absorbed by a larger system as it approaches the Northeast, according to an update Tuesday by the National Weather Service office in Upton.

Nicole, which churned toward northwestern Bahamas on Tuesday, is expected to intensify in the next 24 hours and make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday on Florida's Atlantic coast as a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

The tropical storm comes just about a month after Hurricane Ian left widespread devastation across Florida. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, but even so, tropical storms are rare for early November.

While the track and intensity of Nicole remained uncertain Tuesday, Long Island could see the first remnants beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

By Friday morning, periods of widespread rain are forecast across the entire Island, with a 30% to 50% chance of more than two inches during the length of the storm, the weather service said.

There is only a minimal chance of widespread flash flooding — more than two inches of rain in any six hour period — this weekend, meteorologists said.

But rain is not the only concern locally.

The weather service said there's a 20% to 30% chance of wind gusts exceeding 40 mph late Friday evening and continuing through late Saturday. Besides Long Island, New York City as well as southern Connecticut and its adjacent waters also could see strong gusts.

Nicole also is going to make for rough ocean waters, starting as early as Thursday evening, with a period of elevated seas and winds, the weather service said.