Over 8,600 Power Outages On LI; Snow Squalls Saturday

LONG ISLAND, NY — Thousands of Long Islanders lost power Friday morning as potent winds battered the region, knocking down trees and power lines.

As of 8:45 a.m., 8,641 PSEG Long Island customers were without power, according to the PSEG outage map. Nearly 7,000 of those outages were in Suffolk County with Brookhaven Town hit the hardest. A 68 mph wind gust, the highest on the island, was recorded in Orient at 4 a.m.

A high wind warning remains in effect until 10 a.m., but the strongest winds are now in the past. Gusts of 30-35 mph are likely during the afternoon as the sun makes an appearance.

The sun doesn't plan on doing much warming, though. Temperatures will plummet nearly 30 degrees from the low-50s Friday morning to the lows-20s by early Saturday.

A hazardous weather outlook has been issued for Saturday.

"A polar front will cross the region Saturday afternoon, with potential for a line of snow showers and embedded snow squalls to affect the region with a brief burst of heavy snow, northwest winds gusts of 35 to 45 mph, and temps dropping towards freezing," the National Weather Service says."Roads could become hazardous if this event materializes. Monitor subsequent forecast for the latest updates."

No accumulation is expected, but snow squalls are no joke.

In December 2016, the driver of a mini school bus lost control of the bus on Sunrise Highway during a snow squall, triggering a 29-vehicle pileup that injured six people.

The full forecast:

Friday- A 20 percent chance of showers before 10am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a temperature falling to around 36 by 5pm. Breezy, with a northwest wind 20 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph.

Friday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around 21. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.

Saturday- A chance of rain and snow showers between noon and 3pm, then a chance of snow showers after 3pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 42. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Breezy, with a south wind 8 to 13 mph becoming west 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around 17. Wind chill values between 5 and 15. Windy, with a northwest wind 21 to 26 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.

Sunday- Sunny, with a high near 33. Northwest wind around 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Sunday Night- Clear, with a low around 26.

Monday- Sunny, with a high near 47.

Monday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Tuesday- Rain, mainly after 7am. High near 51. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday Night- Rain. Low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Wednesday- A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 56.