Heavy Rain, 50 MPH Winds to Pound Long Island Thursday

A coastal flood watch and a wind advisory are in effect for Long Island until 6 p.m. Thursday as a storm system packing heavy rain and powerful winds moves through.

Wind gusts up to 50 mph could blow down tree limbs and power lines, the National Weather Service said. Scattered power outages are expected.

As of 11:29 a.m., PSEG Long Island is reporting that 3,360 of its customers are without power. See the PSEG outage map here.

There's a slight chance of thunderstorms during the early afternoon. Wind gusts topping 60 mph will be possible if thunderstorms do strike. Rain will abruptly come to an end late in the afternoon from west to east, the NWS said.

Things will likely remain dry through the weekend with the next chance of wet weather coming next Tuesday. The precipitation is currently expected to begin as snow early Tuesday and then transition to rain.

"Right now it looks like the precipitation will gradually change back over to snow from northwest to southeast Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as the front moves across the region," the NWS said in a forecast discussion Thursday morning. "No significant snowfall is expected at this time."

The full forecast:

Thursday- Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 3pm, then rain likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 56. Windy, with a south wind 17 to 22 mph becoming south 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Thursday Night-
Mostly clear, with a low around 28. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. West wind 11 to 17 mph.

Friday- Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. West wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Friday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around 15. Wind chill values between 10 and 15. West wind 9 to 16 mph.

Saturday- Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. Southwest wind around 9 mph.

Saturday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 27.

Sunday- Partly sunny, with a high near 41.

Sunday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Monday- Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.

Monday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Tuesday- A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday Night- A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Wednesday- Partly sunny, with a high near 35. Breezy.

NWS images