Long Island weather forecast: Heavy rains overnight

Upward of two inches of rain could fall overnight Friday into Saturday across Long Island, according to the National Weather Service.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to douse Long Island with ¾ of an inch to 1½ inches of rain between midnight and 6 a.m. Saturday, according to a National Weather Service briefing issued Friday. Some areas could receive 2 inches of precipitation.

The rain could fall as heavily as an inch in an hour overnight, the weather service said. The event could lead to localized flash flooding, particularly in urban or low-lying areas, as well as those with poor drainage.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, the weather service said patchy dense fog was reducing visibilities to a quarter mile or less in Suffolk County. Visibilities were expected to improve later in the evening as rain moved into the area, the weather service added.

Saturday afternoon and evening are expected to bring more showers and possibly even isolated thunderstorms, said meteorologist Matthew Wunsch with the weather service’s Upton office.

“It shouldn’t be nearly as much as we’re expecting tonight,” Wunsch added of late Saturday rainfall. “But if you get caught in a thunderstorm, that could easily drop half an inch or more.”

The weather service has also issued a high rip current risk statement, which urges beach goers to be wary of “life-threatening” conditions from 6 a.m. through 9 p.m. Saturday.

“Anyone visiting the beaches should stay out of the surf,” the weather service statement reads. “Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water … If you enter the surf zone, always have a flotation device with you and swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and float, and do not swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline.”

The Sunday forecast calls for dry, mostly sunny conditions with high temperatures in the upper 60s, according to the weather service. The temperate conditions during the back half of the weekend will persist for several days. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are all forecast as sunny days, with temperatures reaching around 70, the mid 70s and the upper 70s respectively.

“We’re expecting a warm-up into summerlike temperatures for much of the area,” Wunsch said. “We’re expecting dry conditions with a warming trend through mid- to late-next week.”