Wind gusts in Ohio Valley, Northeast could reach hurricane force
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 23, 2021 6:34 PM EDT
|
Updated Mar 26, 2021 12:54 PM EDT
As the second of two cross-country storms sweeps toward the Great Lakes region this week, people in the northeastern United States can expect a dose of spring weather -- and not just in terms of the high temperatures that will be reached on Thursday and Friday, AccuWeather forecasters say.
The first system spread rain across the Northeast and New England through Wednesday night. Clouds and rain from the storm slashed temperatures by 5-15 degrees Fahrenheit from Tuesday. Highs averaged around 10 degrees above normal early this week from Boston to New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., ranging from the upper 50s to the mid-60s, with warm March sunshine that sent AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures even higher.
However, weather impacts from the first weather system are likely to pale in comparison to a second storm that forecasters expect to arrive late in the week.
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AccuWeather meteorologists expect the second of two storms to pack a punch in terms of rain, flooding and severe weather in part of the South Central states into Thursday. Even though flooding and severe weather aren't expected to be as widespread as the system shifts northeastward, rain and some springtime weather impacts will sweep into the Northeast.
"The storm predicted to swing through from into Friday evening in the Northeast is likely to produce thunderstorms with it," AccuWeather Forecasting Manager Dan DePodwin said.
"Although not every location from the central Appalachians to New England may get a thunderstorm with the system, it may be an 'ooh and ahh' event in that some places have not had a thunderstorm for months," DePodwin added.
The last time thunderstorms occurred in the Northeast varies from region to region. However, in parts of the central Appalachians and northern New England there have not been any thunderstorms since the middle of the autumn.
In Pittsburgh and Buffalo, New York, the last time it thundered was on Nov. 11, 2020. Farther to the east, in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., there were thunderstorms on Nov. 30. While officially in Midtown Manhattan, there have been no thunderstorms since the middle of the fall, there was a thunderstorm at LaGuardia Airport, New York, on Jan. 15. That same storm managed to produce a thunderstorm in Boston on Jan. 16.
Thunderstorms arrived late Thursday night in the eastern parts of the Great Lakes, the upper end of the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians. The strongest winds were trailing the storms.
Farther to the east, thunderstorms are most likely during the daylight morning hours Friday in the mid-Atlantic zone and then over southern New England during the midday hours Friday.
"Any storms will be quick-movers which could catch some people off guard, especially for them likely to occur during the first part of the day, and since it has been a long time when there was a thunderstorm in many areas," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Farther north, some of the storms in parts of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and part of western Maine can be briefly severe during Friday afternoon. Some neighborhoods are likely to be hit with high wind gusts and perhaps hail, along with a few lightning strikes.
"The rapid movement of storms will reduce the risk for flooding, so the greatest risk will be locally strong wind gusts and cloud-to-ground lightning," Anderson added.
Still, as storms and downpours sweep through populated areas, there will be some risk for brief urban-style flooding.
Forecasters warn that people should move indoors at the first rumble of thunder as lightning can strike without notice. Golf carts, canopies and picnic pavilions do not offer adequate protection from lightning.
"Thunderstorms will take the form of a broken line, thus not everyone may hear thunder or experience a full-blown thunderstorm," Anderson said. "Farther north, this will be more of a soaking rain from western New York to northern New England."
Parts of the Northeast could actually use a thorough soaking to lower the risk of spring brush fires. Dry brush and windy conditions contributed to the rapid spread of a wildfire in New Jersey earlier this month. The blaze, which is believed to have been intentionally set, burned through two neighborhoods and 167 acres, according to ABC News.
Parts of upstate New York and northern New England are experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions, according to the United States Drought Monitor. For example, at Springfield, Vermont, the amount of rain and melted snow was 5 inches since Jan. 1, compared to a normal of 7.96 inches.
Another aspect of the storm system will be gusty winds even outside of any thunderstorms that erupt.
Winds are forecast to align near the ground and up around the jet stream level, Anderson explained. When this happens strong winds from high in the atmosphere can be funneled all the way down to the ground in the form of powerful gusts. In addition to causing significant turbulence for airline passengers, gusts may become strong enough to be of concern for people on the ground. AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gusts are expected to reach as high as 80 mph, which is stronger than hurricane force.
"It looks like gusts of to 50 mph from the west will be common over the Northeast in general during Friday and into Friday night," Anderson said. "But, gusts between 50 and 60 mph are possible over the ridges in the mountains and along the southern and eastern shore of Lake Erie."
Winds this strong could push water forward over Lake Erie with the potential for flooding along the eastern end of the lake and perhaps the Buffalo area.
Aside from the risk of lakeshore flooding, winds may be strong enough to lead to sporadic power outages Friday from parts of Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to perhaps the Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and New England coasts.
Along with the feisty nature of this late-March storm will be a surge of warmth just ahead of the system Thursday and just as the feature swings by during Friday.
Temperatures are forecast to flirt with the 70-degree mark from Philadelphia to New York City, Boston, and even Burlington, Vermont, Thursday. Highs in the 70s are anticipated in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Highs in the middle 50s to the middle 60s will be common in northern New England.
Friday is forecast to be even warmer in many areas, especially the mid-Atlantic, despite rain and/or thunderstorms for part of the day. Temperatures are forecast to surge into the 80s in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and may approach 80 in Philadelphia Friday. In all three locations and others in the region, record high temperatures may be challenged. The record for all three cities for March 26 was set 100 years ago in 1921.
Cooler air is forecast to circulate around the back side of the storm. That process will begin first thing Friday morning in the Great Lakes region and the western slopes of the Appalachians. Cooler air will progress eastward to the coastal Northeast during Friday night.
However, even though temperatures may be shaved by 10-20 degrees in the wake of the cold front associated with the system, temperatures are likely to be no lower than average over the weekend and may remain above average in some locations. During late March, high temperatures typically range from the upper 30s and lower 40s in northern New England to near 60 over southeastern Virginia.
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
Wind gusts in Ohio Valley, Northeast could reach hurricane force
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 23, 2021 6:34 PM EDT | Updated Mar 26, 2021 12:54 PM EDT
As the second of two cross-country storms sweeps toward the Great Lakes region this week, people in the northeastern United States can expect a dose of spring weather -- and not just in terms of the high temperatures that will be reached on Thursday and Friday, AccuWeather forecasters say.
The first system spread rain across the Northeast and New England through Wednesday night. Clouds and rain from the storm slashed temperatures by 5-15 degrees Fahrenheit from Tuesday. Highs averaged around 10 degrees above normal early this week from Boston to New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., ranging from the upper 50s to the mid-60s, with warm March sunshine that sent AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures even higher.
However, weather impacts from the first weather system are likely to pale in comparison to a second storm that forecasters expect to arrive late in the week.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
AccuWeather meteorologists expect the second of two storms to pack a punch in terms of rain, flooding and severe weather in part of the South Central states into Thursday. Even though flooding and severe weather aren't expected to be as widespread as the system shifts northeastward, rain and some springtime weather impacts will sweep into the Northeast.
"The storm predicted to swing through from into Friday evening in the Northeast is likely to produce thunderstorms with it," AccuWeather Forecasting Manager Dan DePodwin said.
"Although not every location from the central Appalachians to New England may get a thunderstorm with the system, it may be an 'ooh and ahh' event in that some places have not had a thunderstorm for months," DePodwin added.
The last time thunderstorms occurred in the Northeast varies from region to region. However, in parts of the central Appalachians and northern New England there have not been any thunderstorms since the middle of the autumn.
In Pittsburgh and Buffalo, New York, the last time it thundered was on Nov. 11, 2020. Farther to the east, in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., there were thunderstorms on Nov. 30. While officially in Midtown Manhattan, there have been no thunderstorms since the middle of the fall, there was a thunderstorm at LaGuardia Airport, New York, on Jan. 15. That same storm managed to produce a thunderstorm in Boston on Jan. 16.
Thunderstorms arrived late Thursday night in the eastern parts of the Great Lakes, the upper end of the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians. The strongest winds were trailing the storms.
Farther to the east, thunderstorms are most likely during the daylight morning hours Friday in the mid-Atlantic zone and then over southern New England during the midday hours Friday.
"Any storms will be quick-movers which could catch some people off guard, especially for them likely to occur during the first part of the day, and since it has been a long time when there was a thunderstorm in many areas," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Farther north, some of the storms in parts of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and part of western Maine can be briefly severe during Friday afternoon. Some neighborhoods are likely to be hit with high wind gusts and perhaps hail, along with a few lightning strikes.
"The rapid movement of storms will reduce the risk for flooding, so the greatest risk will be locally strong wind gusts and cloud-to-ground lightning," Anderson added.
Still, as storms and downpours sweep through populated areas, there will be some risk for brief urban-style flooding.
Forecasters warn that people should move indoors at the first rumble of thunder as lightning can strike without notice. Golf carts, canopies and picnic pavilions do not offer adequate protection from lightning.
"Thunderstorms will take the form of a broken line, thus not everyone may hear thunder or experience a full-blown thunderstorm," Anderson said. "Farther north, this will be more of a soaking rain from western New York to northern New England."
Parts of the Northeast could actually use a thorough soaking to lower the risk of spring brush fires. Dry brush and windy conditions contributed to the rapid spread of a wildfire in New Jersey earlier this month. The blaze, which is believed to have been intentionally set, burned through two neighborhoods and 167 acres, according to ABC News.
Parts of upstate New York and northern New England are experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions, according to the United States Drought Monitor. For example, at Springfield, Vermont, the amount of rain and melted snow was 5 inches since Jan. 1, compared to a normal of 7.96 inches.
Another aspect of the storm system will be gusty winds even outside of any thunderstorms that erupt.
Winds are forecast to align near the ground and up around the jet stream level, Anderson explained. When this happens strong winds from high in the atmosphere can be funneled all the way down to the ground in the form of powerful gusts. In addition to causing significant turbulence for airline passengers, gusts may become strong enough to be of concern for people on the ground. AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gusts are expected to reach as high as 80 mph, which is stronger than hurricane force.
"It looks like gusts of to 50 mph from the west will be common over the Northeast in general during Friday and into Friday night," Anderson said. "But, gusts between 50 and 60 mph are possible over the ridges in the mountains and along the southern and eastern shore of Lake Erie."
Winds this strong could push water forward over Lake Erie with the potential for flooding along the eastern end of the lake and perhaps the Buffalo area.
Aside from the risk of lakeshore flooding, winds may be strong enough to lead to sporadic power outages Friday from parts of Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to perhaps the Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and New England coasts.
Related:
Along with the feisty nature of this late-March storm will be a surge of warmth just ahead of the system Thursday and just as the feature swings by during Friday.
Temperatures are forecast to flirt with the 70-degree mark from Philadelphia to New York City, Boston, and even Burlington, Vermont, Thursday. Highs in the 70s are anticipated in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Highs in the middle 50s to the middle 60s will be common in northern New England.
Friday is forecast to be even warmer in many areas, especially the mid-Atlantic, despite rain and/or thunderstorms for part of the day. Temperatures are forecast to surge into the 80s in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and may approach 80 in Philadelphia Friday. In all three locations and others in the region, record high temperatures may be challenged. The record for all three cities for March 26 was set 100 years ago in 1921.
Cooler air is forecast to circulate around the back side of the storm. That process will begin first thing Friday morning in the Great Lakes region and the western slopes of the Appalachians. Cooler air will progress eastward to the coastal Northeast during Friday night.
However, even though temperatures may be shaved by 10-20 degrees in the wake of the cold front associated with the system, temperatures are likely to be no lower than average over the weekend and may remain above average in some locations. During late March, high temperatures typically range from the upper 30s and lower 40s in northern New England to near 60 over southeastern Virginia.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo