Flood watch for western parts of Long Island until midnight due to rain of up to 3 inches

Heavy rainfall on this soggy Saturday — up to 3 inches in some areas — could cause some flooding in Nassau County, prompting forecasters to issue a flood watch for the western parts of Long Island.

The National Weather Service issued the flood watch about noon Saturday, indicating that conditions could cause some flooding in low-lying, flood-prone areas, said Dave Radell, a meteorologist with the service.

"We're expecting a period of heavy rain this afternoon … We wanted to raise the flag for people," Radell said. 

He noted the flood watch is in effect until midnight.

He said that a flood watch is different from a flood warning, in that a watch indicates conditions favorable for flooding, while a warning means flooding is occurring or imminent.

The flood watch extends New York City, northeast New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley and southwestern Connecticut, according to the weather service.

Radell said the "nuisance" flooding would mostly affect those people out on the roads, with water pooling is spots that often have standing water after a rain.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.