Long Island weather forecast: Warm and sunny Saturday before possible thunderstorms next week

The weekend is expected to be warm and sunny on Long Island ahead of possible thunderstorms early next week, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.

Saturday’s high temperature will be in the low-80s for most of the Island. The morning began with hazy conditions that were exacerbated by smoke from fireworks on Independence Day. according to NWS meteorologist Matthew Wunsch. That has largely cleared up, he said.

Conditions are expected to remain clear for the rest of the day, he said.

"It’ll be pretty quiet. There’s high pressure generally over the area. And east of the area, over the Atlantic, we’ll be getting dry conditions with mostly clear skies," he told Newsday. High temperatures will be "on the general increase" into Sunday, he added.

Sunday also is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the mid-80s, although Wunsch said it could be warmer on parts of the North Shore.

"As we get into tomorrow, high temperatures should increase a little bit," he said. "So, we’ll see maybe widespread middle-to-upper 80s. Might be some hotter spots on the North Shore, closer to 90."

Reverberations of a "significant tropical depression" off the coast of the Carolinas could bring cloudy and rainy weather to Long Island starting Sunday night and continuing through Monday, according to Wunsch.

"It’s kind of going to bring the moisture up the East Coast as we get into early next week. Exactly how it’s going to impact us is still kind of up in the air, depending on how close it actually gets to the area," he said.

Wunsch said the weather system would create cloudy conditions and increased humidity on Monday, with thunderstorms possible later in the day.

"We’ll get progressively cloudier with a chance of showers and storms into Monday," he said. He added: "it will still be warm. Highs once again will be in the middle-to-upper 80s for much of Long Island."

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.