Severe weather, flooding downpours to break down late-summer heat in Northeast
The thunderstorms will mark the end of the heat wave across the region, but the change in the weather will come with a price as problems from wet weather will linger into the weekend.
The Northeast will experience daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend.
The clock is ticking on the late-summer swelter in the East, AccuWeather meteorologists say. But even after severe thunderstorms mark the beginning of heat relief, wet weather will stick around and prove problematic through this weekend.
Northeast heat relief to be delayed but not denied
The thunderstorms erased the heat across the northern Plains and much of the Great Lakes on Wednesday. However, heat lingered farther to the east and held on through Friday along the East Coast.
Residents of New York City have experienced a very warm start to September, but one particular milestone remained elusive until last week -- three days in a row of 90-degree Fahrenheit weather, which is an official heat wave.
There were two instances this summer when the city had two-day stretches of 90 or greater temperatures. Both episodes were in July. But, after high temperatures in the 90s now official from Tuesday to Thursday, New York City has finally experienced its first heat wave of the summer, ahead of the weekend's wet weather. Temperatures hit the 90-degree mark for a fourth day in a row on Friday in the Big Apple.
A wet and humid weekend will continue in the Northeast due to a slow-moving storm and a surge of moisture up the Eastern Seaboard that will help to fuel drenching showers and locally gusty thunderstorms. As temperatures trend downward this weekend, humidity levels are likely to remain high or climb even higher along the Atlantic coast.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz explained that the forward progression of the storms will slow down throughout this weekend, allowing thunderstorms to linger in the same areas for an extended period of time. As the culprit storm system crawls toward the Atlantic coastline, wet weather will persist across the region through Sunday.
While severe storms on Friday are not expected to ramp up again this weekend, the wet weather will stick around. Round after round of wet weather is likely to target the Northeast, bringing more opportunities for rain in most areas straight through Sunday.
It is possible that rain and storms hold off on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, through Saturday evening, allowing at least one good weekend day at the beach. The area is a hot spot for September weekend getaways. The risk of storms and downpours will increase in southeastern Massachusetts and the offshore islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket from Saturday night to Sunday.
Forecasters urge those spending time outdoors through this weekend to be on the lookout for changing weather conditions as there will be the potential for sudden lightning strikes.
AccuWeather monitors Hurricane Lee's approach
Next week, all eyes will likely focus on what has become the most powerful hurricane of the 2023 season in the Atlantic. Lee reached Category 5 intensity Friday morning as it moved north of the Caribbean, and there is at least one scenario in which the hurricane may approach coastal areas of the Northeast the upcoming weekend. At the very least, seas and surf will build along much of the Atlantic coast next week as the powerful hurricane turns northward.
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