Long Island weather: Partly cloudy and dry today, widespread rain on Sunday

Rain is expected to put a damper on Sunday plans across Long Island, with up to ¾ inches forecast to fall from the morning through late afternoon.

After a cool and dry Saturday with highs in the low 70s, temperatures are forecast to dip into the 50s overnight. A low-pressure system is expected to bring rain to Nassau and Suffolk counties throughout much of Sunday, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

"It's going to be on the lighter side for the most part," Dave Raddell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, said of the rain. "There could be some heavier showers in there, but nothing like we saw last weekend."

One-half to ¾ of an inch of rain is forecast Sunday starting around 8 or 9 a.m., and is expected to continue throughout the day before tapering off around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., Raddell said. Thunderstorms are not in the forecast, he said, and the high temperature is expected to reach the low 70s.

"Not a good beach day, for sure," he added.

An "unsettled week" begins Monday, Raddell said, with a 30% chance of showers on Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday is forecast to be the nicest day of the week — "partly sunny and breezy, highs in the mid 60s" — before the chance for rain returns Thursday and continues through next weekend, Raddell said. The National Weather Service forecasts highs in the mid-to-high 60s and lows in the 50s.

"We're kind of turning the tide here a little bit from summer to some more fall-like weather," Raddell said.