Forecasters issue high wind warning for New Year’s Day into Thursday for Long Island

Potentially dangerous wind gusts of up to 55 mph are expected across Long Island on the first days of 2025.

National Weather Service meteorologists issued an advisory from 3 p.m. Wednesday to 10 p.m. Thursday, warning residents to secure outdoor objects and prepare for fallen tree branches and isolated power outages. They also warned drivers, especially those in high-profile vehicles, to take extra caution.

New Year’s Day brings a 20% chance of showers, the Weather Service said, with a high temperature near 50 degrees that will feel cooler by nightfall — between 25 and 30 — because of the wind.

The cause of the high winds, and the reason for their unusual duration, is a faceoff between a low-pressure system that moved north through the region toward Massachusetts Tuesday night and a high pressure system now in place over much of the southeast United States, said Matthew Wunsch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Upton station. 

“We are in between those systems, so the pressure gradient is pretty tight over us,” he said. The winds are likely to intensify as the low pressure system continues north into Maine and southern Canada, he said.

The pressure gradient fueled thunderstorms Tuesday night that dumped .5 to .75 inches of rain on parts of Long Island, he said.

Thursday and Friday will be colder, with wind chill values between 20 and 30 on Thursday and a high of 37 on Friday.

The weekend will be dry but windy, Wunsch said, with gusts of up to 35 miles per hour possible through Sunday.