Long Island weather: Heavy rain Friday, then again Saturday

Look for soggy and foggy conditions Friday morning, with rain in the forecast, heavy at times, and temperatures warming up to the mid-to-upper 50s, forecasters say.

That would be stage one of a long-term precipitation event that could see a switch to a wintry mix Saturday afternoon, just before the system departs, said Faye Morrone, National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton.

With potential record-breaking temperatures expected to rise to the upper 50s on Friday, the system also brings widespread fog and the chance for a rumble of thunder, the weather service said. In all, 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain is forecast, locally higher in some spots.

That rain and melting snow also bring potential from Friday into Saturday for “urban and poor drainage flooding, especially where snow is clogging drains,” the weather service said.

That’s as the record high for the Friday at Long Island MacArthur Airport – 58 degrees, set in 1995 – could well be bested.

Saturday’s high temperatures in the upper 40s can be expected around the time Long Islanders are waking up, Morrone said, dipping to below freezing by mid-afternoon, though precise timing remained uncertain as of the late afternoon Thursday forecast.

If there’s overlapping of that cold and the precipitation’s tail-end, she said, the area could see a brief period of a wintry mix of rain, sleet, frozen rain, and even a few flakes of snow. Regardless, once temperatures have been below the 32 degree mark, residents should take care for puddles and ponding of water that will freeze.

There’ll be the “need to watch out for icy conditions,” said Rich Hoffman, News 12 Long Island meteorologist.

Sunday, then, was looking to be mostly sunny with highs of around 27 degrees, followed by Monday, expected to head up to around 30 degrees.