Soaking storms raise flood concerns again in northeastern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 18, 2021 10:19 AM EDT
With cracks of thunder and roaring wind, thunderstorms rumbled across the Northeast on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and flooding in some areas.
Following a lull in shower and thunderstorm activity on Thursday, thunderstorms hammered the Northeast on Saturday, but AccuWeather meteorologists expect showers and thunderstorms to ease up a bit on Sunday.
In a large part of the Northeast, an extremely wet first half of July has the ground saturated and streams running high.
Both Boston and New York City have received well over 8 inches of rain during the first 15 days of the month. Normal rainfall for all of July in Boston is 3.43 inches, while New York City typically receives 4.60 inches.
On Saturday, intense rain fell across the region, measuring over 3 inches in several locations. Akron, New York, had the highest reported amount with 4.06 inches of rain. Terminals flooded at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, and several cars were submerged due to flooding in Rosedale, Maryland. Poor-drainage flooding occurred in Gloucester City, New Jersey, on Saturday night.
A widespread severe thunderstorm watch was issued from central Pennsylvania to the Atlantic Coast, as far north as western Massachusetts and as far south as northern Virginia. Gusty winds damaged trees and spread debris across portions of the mid-Atlantic, and egg-sized hail was reported in Whitney Point, New York.
Those spending time outdoors or on the road in the region should keep an eye out for changing weather conditions. Persistent downpours can cause city streets and underpasses to rapidly fill with water. Small streams could rapidly overflow their banks. Forecasters advise residents to move away from windows if indoors should storms come calling. Tents, picnic pavilions and golf carts do not offer adequate protection from lightning.
On Sunday, slightly drier air is forecast to reach areas from northern Ohio to much of Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as northern Maine. This should result in significantly less shower and thunderstorm activity and may even be enough to prevent a downpour entirely.
This dry push is likely to be a precursor of a slight pattern change for the region.
During much of the first half of July, a southward dip in the jet stream was set up over the Midwest. In this position, a south to southwesterly flow of air helped to pull a great deal of moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The result has been not only very high humidity, but frequent showers and thunderstorms that produced excessive rainfall that resulted in flash flooding in many locations.
"A slightly cooler and less humid pattern will likely set up across much of the Northeast this week as steering winds flip around to more of a west to northwest, which should cut off the deep supply of moisture from the Gulf and Atlantic," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
The pattern will not be free from episodes of rain, however.
There will still be several fronts that pass through the region this week and each one can bring its own round of showers and storms with gusty winds, according to Anderson.
But, at least the threat of flooding rainfall will be reduced as the storms will move more quickly and will have less moisture to work with. With slightly lower humidity levels, drying conditions should improve between the showers and storms as well.
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Instead of rain occurring daily or multiple times a day, it may only rain every one out of two or three days in the pattern this week.
In terms of temperature, some nighttime lows in the upper 50s to lower 60s are forecast and it is possible that temperatures dip below the 70-degree mark in the major I-95 cities on one or more nights.
To the east of the Appalachians, where descending air warms, the I-95 corridor and beaches will still flirt with 90 degrees this week. Farther west, highs over the interior Northeast will range from the upper 70s to the middle 80s, with a couple of cooler days where clouds persist.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Severe Weather
Soaking storms raise flood concerns again in northeastern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 18, 2021 10:19 AM EDT
With cracks of thunder and roaring wind, thunderstorms rumbled across the Northeast on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and flooding in some areas.
Following a lull in shower and thunderstorm activity on Thursday, thunderstorms hammered the Northeast on Saturday, but AccuWeather meteorologists expect showers and thunderstorms to ease up a bit on Sunday.
In a large part of the Northeast, an extremely wet first half of July has the ground saturated and streams running high.
Both Boston and New York City have received well over 8 inches of rain during the first 15 days of the month. Normal rainfall for all of July in Boston is 3.43 inches, while New York City typically receives 4.60 inches.
On Saturday, intense rain fell across the region, measuring over 3 inches in several locations. Akron, New York, had the highest reported amount with 4.06 inches of rain. Terminals flooded at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, and several cars were submerged due to flooding in Rosedale, Maryland. Poor-drainage flooding occurred in Gloucester City, New Jersey, on Saturday night.
A widespread severe thunderstorm watch was issued from central Pennsylvania to the Atlantic Coast, as far north as western Massachusetts and as far south as northern Virginia. Gusty winds damaged trees and spread debris across portions of the mid-Atlantic, and egg-sized hail was reported in Whitney Point, New York.
Those spending time outdoors or on the road in the region should keep an eye out for changing weather conditions. Persistent downpours can cause city streets and underpasses to rapidly fill with water. Small streams could rapidly overflow their banks. Forecasters advise residents to move away from windows if indoors should storms come calling. Tents, picnic pavilions and golf carts do not offer adequate protection from lightning.
On Sunday, slightly drier air is forecast to reach areas from northern Ohio to much of Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as northern Maine. This should result in significantly less shower and thunderstorm activity and may even be enough to prevent a downpour entirely.
This dry push is likely to be a precursor of a slight pattern change for the region.
During much of the first half of July, a southward dip in the jet stream was set up over the Midwest. In this position, a south to southwesterly flow of air helped to pull a great deal of moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The result has been not only very high humidity, but frequent showers and thunderstorms that produced excessive rainfall that resulted in flash flooding in many locations.
"A slightly cooler and less humid pattern will likely set up across much of the Northeast this week as steering winds flip around to more of a west to northwest, which should cut off the deep supply of moisture from the Gulf and Atlantic," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
The pattern will not be free from episodes of rain, however.
There will still be several fronts that pass through the region this week and each one can bring its own round of showers and storms with gusty winds, according to Anderson.
But, at least the threat of flooding rainfall will be reduced as the storms will move more quickly and will have less moisture to work with. With slightly lower humidity levels, drying conditions should improve between the showers and storms as well.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Instead of rain occurring daily or multiple times a day, it may only rain every one out of two or three days in the pattern this week.
In terms of temperature, some nighttime lows in the upper 50s to lower 60s are forecast and it is possible that temperatures dip below the 70-degree mark in the major I-95 cities on one or more nights.
To the east of the Appalachians, where descending air warms, the I-95 corridor and beaches will still flirt with 90 degrees this week. Farther west, highs over the interior Northeast will range from the upper 70s to the middle 80s, with a couple of cooler days where clouds persist.
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Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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