United States

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

July 22, 2012; 2:25 AM

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All the ingredients are coming together for violent thunderstorms to return to the Northeast, as well as the central Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley, on Monday.

The Northeast enjoyed a comfortable start to the weekend today with heat and high humidity absent--weather residents should not get used to.

Temperatures throughout the Northeast will rise back into the 80s with a slight uptick in humidity on Sunday. Monday is when the real "steambath" will be in place as high humidity floods back in.

The stage will then be set for numerous thunderstorms capable of unleashing damaging winds and hail to ignite. Downpours will also accompany the thunderstorms, but will be greeted with both jeers and cheers.

While flash flooding and problems for travelers may result, the downpours will be a welcome sight for farmers, gardeners and those hoping for a greener lawn.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists actually expect two separate areas of potentially damaging and drenching thunderstorms to erupt on Monday.

A ripple in the jet stream threatens to spark one zone of potent thunderstorms from Washington, D.C., and the Delmarva to Connecticut on Monday.

Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City lie within this corridor, which will see the majority of the strongest thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.

The second area of severe weather on Monday will erupt from central Quebec to the central Great Lakes as a cold front slices into the heat and humidity.

This line of powerful thunderstorms--potentially including an isolated tornado--will first target cities from Toronto, Ontario, Erie, Pa., Detroit, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio, in the afternoon before tracking southeastward across the St. Lawrence Valley and the Northeast's interior early Monday night.

The thunderstorms should weaken before reaching the I-95 corridor, but that does not mean the cold front will pass through this region quietly.

Instead, a couple of additional showers and thunderstorms will keep I-95 corridor unsettled on Tuesday with some of the thunderstorms turning strong in the afternoon across eastern New England (home to Boston and Portland).

Thunderstorms will also extend back to the central Appalachians this day, threatening to ruin outdoor plans.

All residents and visitors from the central Great Lakes to the Northeast should check back with AccuWeather.com as we continue to finesse the details of the impending severe weather.

When the storminess that starts the upcoming workweek settles down, refreshing temperatures and low humidity will follow for the midweek.