United States

By Brian Edwards, Meteorologist

August 14, 2012; 6:30 PM

Share |

Photo courtesy of Photos.com.

Locally severe thunderstorms will threaten to put a damper on outdoor plans and the evening commute tonight across parts of the mid-Atlantic.

Scattered thunderstorms will continue to develop into this evening from the southern tier of New York to State College and Harrisburg, Pa., before shifting into Philadelphia, Hagerstown and Baltimore during the evening hours.

The same storm system produced severe weather across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on Monday.

An approaching cold front is tapping into abundant moisture and a warm atmosphere, which is leading to the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms over much of the mid-Atlantic.

Conditions will be ripe into the first half of tonight for the development of several bands of intense thunderstorms, a few of which will produce wind gusts over 55 mph.

Strong winds to this magnitude can lead to downed trees and power outages across parts of the region, while isolated downpours can produce flash and urban flooding.

Flooding downpours could pose a threat to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., during the evening commute or late-evening hours.

As locally stong thunderstorms approach airports, flight delays are possible.

Hail to the size of marbles is also possible in the strongest of the storms.

While the threat is low, one or two thunderstorms could rotate and spawn brief tornadoes. This appears most likely during the evening hours in the corridor extending from northern Virginia to southeastern Pennsylvania.

Thunderstorms will continue overnight over eastern Pennsylvania and New York into the Delmarva Peninsula as the aforementioned storm system slows down its eastward progression.

While the overall severe weather threat is expected to wind down later tonight, isolated flooding downpours could linger from Albany to NYC, Atlantic City and Dover into Wednesday morning.

Residents of the mid-Atlantic should keep an eye to the sky into tonight and take shelter if threatening weather approaches.

Heed all severe weather watches and warnings and check back with the AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Center for the latest updated information on the impending storms in the East.