High Winds, Heavy Rain, Minor Flooding: Storm Headed To Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — A big storm from the southwest will bring rain and gusty winds to Long Island from Sunday into early Monday, with flooding and power outages possible.

A couple thousand feet above the ground, winds will be screaming on Sunday and Sunday night along the Atlantic coast, AccuWeather Meteorologist Grady Gilman said. "High winds in the lower part of the atmosphere may be dragged down to ground and sea surface level in the form of powerful gusts."

A narrow zone with gusts between 60 and 70 mph is most likely on eastern Long Island, he said.

With sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph possible Sunday evening into early Monday morning, a few trees, power lines and tree limbs could be downed, the NWS said. Plus, minor to locally moderate coastal flooding is possible in vulnerable communities along the western Great South Bay with Monday morning's high tide.

The main flooding threat from up to 2 inches of rain will be in areas of poor drainage.

However, if the storm moves more slowly than expected, there's a greater chance of urban and small stream flash flooding, particularly if heavy rain lingers near the time of high tide early Monday morning across western Long Island, the NWS said. In addition, the threat for moderate coastal flooding would increase as onshore winds linger till the time of high tide.

This will all be happening as temperatures hover in the 50s for a second day, only to drop as a cold front moves in behind the storm.

"Temperatures will peak near 60 Sunday evening and night, then plummet into the 30s by Monday evening. This steep temperature gradient is the reason there will be strong winds aloft," Corey Maller of JC Weather NYC and Long Island said on Facebook.

Here's the five-day forecast based on southwestern Suffolk County:

• Friday - Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. Northeast winds around 5 mph, becoming south this afternoon.
• Tonight - Partly cloudy. Near steady temperature in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Saturday - Partly sunny in the morning, then becoming mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Saturday Night - Mostly cloudy in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southwest winds around 5 mph.
• Sunday - Partly sunny with a chance of showers in the morning, then cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Breezy with highs around 60. South winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 80 percent.
• Sunday Night - Showers. Locally heavy rainfall possible after midnight. Windy with lows in the upper 40s. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
• Monday - Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs around 50. Chance of rain 50 percent.
• Monday Night - Mostly clear. Cooler with lows in the upper 20s.
• Tuesday - Sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
• Tuesday Night - Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.