Heavy rain, high winds hit Long Island; cooling trend on the way

A cooling trend is forecast after Long Island was hit by a series of powerful thunderstorms overnight into Thursday that brought nearly 2 inches of rain and strong winds.

The National Weather Service reported that 1.92 inches of rain was recorded in Islip with wind speeds of 23 mph — and gusts as high as 30 mph. At LaGuardia Airport in Queens, wind speeds of 39 mph — with gusts as high as 49 mph — were recorded, the weather service said.

Nassau and Suffolk police said there was no rash of weather-related accidents or reports of significant road flooding Wednesday night into Thursday, and just one report of a downed tree on a side street in Suffolk.

Suffolk police said a transformer fire was reported in a 911 call received at 5:39 a.m. Thursday. That incident forced the closure of one lane of Jericho Turnpike in Commack, police said, but there are no reported injuries.

Thursday turned out to be mostly sunny with afternoon temperatures in the low 80s.

A comfortable sunny day is on tap for Friday, with highs in the upper 70s, the weather service said. A chance of thunderstorms is forecast for Saturday and Sunday. 

A warning for “dangerous rip currents” continues through Thursday evening for all South Shore ocean beaches, the service said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”