Bundle up! It is a mostly clear, but breezy and cold evening on Long Island. Wind gusts are occasionally exceeding 30 mph and temperatures are starting to feel like the 20s and 30s this evening. Actual air temperatures will drop below freezing by midnight and the wind will lessen into Wednesday morning. Protect any sensitive plants and vegetation. You will need some time to warm up the car in the morning.

There is a freeze warning for Nassau County from midnight until 8 a.m. Wednesday. Freeze watches and warnings directly correlate to the growing season and not necessarily just how it feels outside. While all of Long Island will experience very cold-feeling air these next couple of nights, the reason Suffolk County is not under a freeze warning is because the official growing season does not begin until April 11 in Suffolk County. Nassau County's growing season officially began on April 1.

The National Weather Service uses very specific climatological data (when we are past the average last freeze date for a county) to designate when a county's growing season officially begins. So, even though you are seeing some grass grow and flowers bloom in Suffolk County - a freeze watch or warning will not be issued for Suffolk until April 11 and beyond.

You should still protect any outdoor plants, no matter where you live on Long Island, as temperatures will be in the upper 20s to lower 30s in both counties.

It is going to look great with a mostly sunny sky, but it will be a cold morning and a chilly afternoon and evening on Long Island on Wednesday. Afternoon highs will be in the mid- to upper 40s. Thankfully, the wind will be light in the afternoon and evening.

It will be another night to protect the plants on Long Island with lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s Wednesday night into Thursday morning. It will still be dry under a mostly clear sky.

Expect a mix of sun and clouds on Thursday with high temperatures back up to around 50 degrees. Lows at night will still be chilly - in the lower to middle 30s.

The dry weather will continue into the weekend, other than a quick passing shower Saturday morning and it will warm up, too! Highs on Friday will be closer to 60 degrees and it will be in the upper 50s to mid-60s over the weekend. Even warmer weather is on the table for early next week with more widespread high temperatures in the 60s and 70s Monday through Wednesday next week. There is a chance that parts of Nassau and northwestern Suffolk Counties can get close to 80 degrees, especially next Tuesday.

This will continue to be a bad week for seasonal allergies. With mostly dry and breezy weather at times and as we get more into the growing season, tree pollen will be high to very high.

Have a great night!