Severe storms to spring to life in eastern US
Rounds of drenching downpours and severe thunderstorms will erupt from the Midwest to the East into the weekend, threatening outdoor plans and football games.
A cold front is set to bring welcome rain to the Northeast after escalating drought conditions.
A brief surge of springlike conditions will help to fuel locally heavy to severe thunderstorms across the Midwest and East into the weekend.
Cool fronts will trigger showers and thunderstorms from the Midwest to the eastern and southern United States in the coming days. As cool air advances, brief surges of warm, humid air ahead of the fronts will produce thunderstorms with torrential downpours, strong wind gusts and hail. While the risk of tornadoes is low with the setups over the next few days, occasionally, severe thunderstorms produce brief tornadoes.
Two main cool fronts will bring two rounds of gusty showers and, at times, severe thunderstorms.
As warmer, more humid air surges north, showers and locally severe storms will extend from southeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec to northern Georgia and Alabama into Thursday evening.
The greatest risk of storms producing wind gusts of 50–70 mph, hail and torrential downpours will extend from West Virginia and western Virginia southward.
As the line of showers and thunderstorms approaches the Interstate 95 corridor Thursday night, the risk of severe weather may diminish, but lightning could still disrupt evening events, including the NFL kickoff game in Philadelphia.
As the next front moves southeast across the Midwest on Friday, more showers and thunderstorms will develop along and ahead of it.
Showers and locally severe thunderstorms will extend from central Ontario to Missouri and Kansas.
Friday afternoon and evening, the greatest risk of severe thunderstorms producing wind gusts of 50–75 mph, hail and torrential downpours will extend from southwestern Pennsylvania and southern Ohio to western Tennessee and northern Mississippi.
Storms with frequent lightning could disrupt Friday evening sporting events.
After showers move through the Appalachians late Friday night into Saturday morning, daytime heating will enhance activity along much of the Atlantic Seaboard Saturday afternoon and evening.
The greatest risk of severe thunderstorms producing wind gusts of 55–75 mph, hail and torrential downpours will extend from southern New Hampshire to central North Carolina.
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Travelers along the Interstate 95 corridor Saturday afternoon and evening should expect delays. Air travel may also be affected at major hubs from Boston and New York City to Washington, D.C., and perhaps Charlotte and Atlanta.
Thunderstorms may affect parts of Florida and Atlantic Canada on Sunday, and while the storms may disrupt travel and outdoor plans, many areas in the East are experiencing worsening drought and could benefit from non-flooding rainfall.
A significant flash flood threat may develop in parts of Texas this weekend into early next week, as one of the fronts stalls over the region and tropical moisture streams in.
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