Long Island weather forecast: Showers and strong winds with cooler week ahead

Gusty winds and showers are pelting Long Island, as above-average temperatures are due to drop when a cold front arrives by evening.

There is a wind advisory in effect on Monday from 2 p.m. until 4 a.m. Tuesday as winds increase to between 40 and 50 mph, the National Weather Service said. Isolated gusts could be around 55 mph.

The service said to expect wind gusts will toss unsecured objects, tree limbs could be blown down and some power outages may result. As of 12:30, there were just 19 active outages, according to PSEG Long Island. 

Showers are falling off and on with up to an inch of rain expected. The East End will likely receive under an inch, while areas of western Long Island, are forecast to receive more than 1.2 inches.

There's also the potential for some gusty thunderstorms later Monday, the weather service said, along with isolated coastal flooding and beach erosion.

Rain is expected to taper off Monday night into Tuesday, allowing for a mostly dry yet windy St. Patrick’s Day, with gusts up to 25 mph. 

After the departure of Monday's warm front, weather service meteorologist Jim Connolly said Long Island will see below or average temperatures this week, the last official week of winter, with highs in the mid-50s on Monday dropping to a high in the mid-40s Tuesday.

"It'll be cool this week, especially the beginning of the week after the cold front passes tonight," Connolly said.

Wednesday will reach highs in the high 30s, Thursday will reach the mid-40s, and Friday — the first day of spring — will reach the lower 50s.

However, don’t expect high temperatures like last week just yet.

"We're not going to have any of that nice, warm weather really, in the foreseeable future, at least through Sunday," Connolly said. "Those temperatures are pretty anomalous, so it might be tough to get those until maybe even April."