Hazardous Weather Outlook Issued for Long Island

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the area ahead of a storm that is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Long Island on Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.

“A strong frontal system will approach the region Christmas Eve night and then cross early Christmas morning,” the NWS said. “There is potential for an organized line of convection with the cold frontal passage...with a resultant low potential for damaging wind gusts.”

Rain is expected throughout the day Wednesday, with the potential for nearly 2 inches of rain to fall by the time Santa comes down the chimney.

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Things should dry out on Christmas morning, but the strongest winds from the storm are likely Thursday morning into the afternoon with gusts of up to 40 mph on the coast, the NWS said.

The storm will likely have major travel impacts across the Northeast, Midwest and South, according to AccuWeather.com.

AAA is projecting that nationwide, 98.6 million Americans will journey 50 or miles from home during the Dec. 23-Jan. 4 holiday travel period, an increase of four percent from the 94.8 million who traveled last year.

Temperatures will be unseasonably warm on both Wednesday and Thursday with the mercury well into the 50s.

The full NWS forecast:

• Tonight- Rain likely, mainly after 3am. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 47. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
• Wednesday- Rain. Areas of fog. High near 57. Light southeast wind becoming south 11 to 16 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
• Wednesday Night- Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Areas of fog. Steady temperature around 56. Breezy, with a south wind 20 to 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
• Christmas Day- Showers likely, mainly before 8am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a temperature rising to near 54 by 11am, then falling to around 47 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a west wind 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
• Thursday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around 36. Breezy, with a west wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.
• Friday- Sunny, with a high near 48.

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