After 'foretaste of spring weather,' rain coming soon
People walk their dogs in Heckscher Park in Huntington on a beautiful first Sunday in March. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Long Islanders looking to take advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures will need to do so before the rain comes, according to a weather forecast for the week ahead.
High temperatures, usually in the mid-40s for the first week of March, reached 64 degrees in Islip on Sunday, just two degrees shy of a daily record high of 66 set there in 1991, according to Bill Goodman, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Upton.
Meanwhile New York City broke previous daily warm records at three climate sites Sunday, with the mercury hitting 68 at Kennedy Airport, surpassing a high of 63 set in 1991. LaGuardia Airport reached 67 degrees, overtaking a record high of 65 set in 1967, and Central Park saw temperatures climb to 68 degrees, breaking a high of 65 from 1991.
But springlike temperatures won't be sticking around for long, with a cooldown starting on Monday as high temperatures are expected to linger in the low 50s.
Sunday was "just a foretaste of spring weather for one day," Goodman said.
Rain is forecast to develop overnight Monday into Tuesday, extending for several days and possibly even bringing up to three-quarters of an inch of rain on Tuesday.
The rainfall will likely pick up again Wednesday night and continue into Thursday.
Highs are expected to return closer to normal next weekend — 47 degrees on Friday and 44 on Saturday — when a slight chance of rain remains, according to the extended forecast.
“It’s really just a lingering chance of rain through the end of the week,” NWS meteorologist James Tomasini said. “20% to 30% chances.”
Tomasini said the rain earlier in the week is projected due to a coastal low. The “second shot of rain” is due to a low pressure system approaching from the west, he said.
With Lorena Mongelli
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
