Powerful rainstorm departs the region; sunshine forecast for the weekend

After Thursday's powerful rainstorm eased out of the region, service was restored early Friday to the LIRR's Port Washington Branch, which had been affected by the storm.

"Service on all LIRR branches is on or close to schedule, including on the Port Washington Branch, where repairs were necessary because water got onto the tracks," Long Island Rail Road spokeswoman Renee Price said early Friday, adding that both tracks of the branch were restored around 6:30 a.m.

"Approximately 80 employees worked through the night to restore service including plumbers, power, signal, and track personnel," she wrote in an email. "The excessive water from street level at both Bayside and Great Neck caused wash out conditions where soil, ballast, and even railroad ties were washed away."

Scattered showers Friday morning, particularly on the East End, were forecast to move offshore within a few hours, giving way to partly cloudy skies late morning or afternoon and increasing sunshine, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Radell.

“For the most part the precipitation that we’ve had over the past 12, 24 hours is coming to an end,” he said, adding: “After yesterday’s rainfall, [it will be] a return to some more pleasant weather.”

There is a high risk of rip currents at all ocean beaches in Suffolk County, Radell said.

“There’s a good likelihood that you could be swept out if conditions are right and you’re not a very strong swimmer,” he said. And the risk could be life-threatening, he noted.

Gov. Kathy Hochul had declared a state of emergency for Long Island Thursday and at least 13 other New York counties. Her announcement came after the National Weather Service warned of potentially severe flash flooding from the storm

The strong winds forecast to gust to more than 50 mph never materialized, and the weather service did not receive any wind damage reports.

The heaviest rainfall during the storm totaled 5 inches in Queens, with between 1 and 3 inches on Long Island. Rainfall totaled 3 inches in Sayville, according to initial estimates.

There was still a 40% chance of showers Friday morning and temperatures were forecast to drop dramatically to a high of 74 during the day — some 25 degrees lower than highs during Long Island's three-day heat wave earlier in the week — and the low 60s at night. Some gusty winds of up to 29 mph were also expected.

But the weekend, and the week ahead, looks to be mostly clear with temperatures around 80 degrees, the weather service said.

While mostly sparing Long Island, Thursday's system flooded roadways and interfered with travel across the region, forcing the closure of parts of the Clearview Expressway earlier in the afternoon and causing suspensions and delays on the LIRR.

The Port Washington Branch of the LIRR was suspended for most Thursday, east of Flushing-Main Street in both directions, due to high water, according to the MTA.

There were no reported delays at area airports Friday morning.

PSEG Long Island was reporting fewer than 150 customers without power on Long Island, down from more than 1,600 Thursday.

Newsday's John Asbury and Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.