Drenching Storms Threaten East Coast Travel Delays

By Bill Deger, Meteorologist
Jan 27, 2012; 7:00 AM ET
Share |

As a cold front sweeps toward the East Coast, drenching and gusty thunderstorms will slow travel from New England to Florida into the afternoon.

Included in the mess is the busy Northeast corridor, where the combination of low clouds and heavy rain will result in flight delays.

The heaviest rain will fall during the midday hours from eastern North Carolina to New England. During the afternoon the rain will sweep out of much of the coastal mid-Atlantic, but will linger over southeastern new England.

Rainfall amounts of at least a half an inch are expected, with the heaviest rain falling within a few hours' time as a cold front approaches and passes.

At the very least, motorists will encounter large puddles of water on roadways and reduced visibility in the wake of spray from larger vehicles and tractor trailers.

Accompanying the downpours at times from the New York metropolitan area on south will be a few thunderstorms, which could even turn gusty as the front passes.

Warmer, more humid air from the Delmarva to Florida could even help to turn the storms severe as they march toward the coast.

Strong wind gusts in excess of 50 mph are a possibility with a few of the storms, which will generally threaten areas only through the midday hours.

With a powerful, twisting blast of air arriving in the upper levels of the atmosphere, it's not out of the question an isolated, brief tornado be spawned from the strongest storms.

In the wake of the front this afternoon and evening, unusually mild air will be replaced by falling temperatures; this will effectively end the threat for any additional showers or storms.

Comments

Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.

More Weather News

  • Top Five Tornado Myths Debunked

    Feb 23, 2012; 7:30 AM ET

    Though everyone has seen a Hollywood tornado flick where a highway overpass has served as an effective shelter against an F-5 twister, officials say it's certainly not the recommended course of action.

  • Winter Returns to the East Friday into Saturday

    Feb 23, 2012; 5:07 AM ET

    In a winter season that has been dominated by mild temperatures and lack of snow, the Great Lakes and the Northeast are in for a reminder that winter is not yet over.

  • Snowbound in. . . Africa?

    Feb 23, 2012; 5:00 AM ET

    Europe's extreme cold and heavy snow reached across Mediterranean waters to Africa, where severe winter weather was replicated in parts of Algeria and Tunisia.

  • Tornado Season Coming Soon

    Feb 23, 2012; 4:58 AM ET

    The tornado frequency increases in the spring as the warm and cold seasons battle it out in the U.S.

Daily U.S. Extremes

past 24 hours

  Extreme Location
High 89° Harlingen, TX
Low Chama, NM
Precip 2.56" Stampede Pass, WA

WeatherWhys®

Avalanches are caused by a number of factors. Thick layers of snow and ice of varying intensity along a mountainside are weakened by the force of gravity and changing weather conditions. At some point, this large mass of snow is released down the mountain in a form of an avalanche.

This Day In Weather History

New England (1802)
Great snowstorm raged over New England. 4 foot depths piled up north of Boston, three large Indiamen wrecked on Cape Cod.

S.W. Ohio (1962)
Severe glaze storm: Ice 1" thick, $1 million property damage.

Loading...

2/23/2012 11:06:53 AM /news-entry.asp 9 .75.119 (accuweather)-- [new]