Stormy, damp pattern in Northeast to bring severe weather risk
The stormy pattern won’t be good for those with outdoor plans, but areas of the Northeast that are dealing with drought could certainly use the rain.
A damp and gloomy weather pattern will continue into much of this week in areas from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast. This pattern will continue to allow frequent storms to bring needed rain to the mid-Atlantic states and into New England; however, thunderstorms that ignite across the region by the end of the weekend can bring the threat of severe weather.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that this stormy pattern has been a noticeable shift compared to the weather in previous weeks.
"Over the last few months, the Northeast and Great Lakes weather has taken dramatic turns, from warm and wet to dry and smoky. As we head into the first weekend of astronomical summer, the pattern will flip to humid and active weather with showers and occasional thunderstorms. This pattern looks like it lasts well into [this] week," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore.
The area of low pressure that circulated across the Southeast for much of last week and dropped several inches of rain continued on its northeasterly path through New England on Saturday. As this feature keeps tracking northward, rounds of thunderstorms could develop along the associated frontal zone and enhance the risk for localized flooding.
"Another storm early [this] week will keep the wet regime in place. This turn toward very active weather could produce localized areas of above-average rainfall for the month of June," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Potent thunderstorms to turn severe Sunday into Monday
As a center of low pressure pushes into the Great Lakes region on Sunday, the threat of strong to severe thunderstorms will shift to areas of Wisconsin, Michigan and the Ohio Valley on southward. AccuWeather forecasters are outlining a high risk across segments of Indiana and Ohio.
From Sunday afternoon to Sunday night, damaging wind gusts from lines of thunderstorms could reach speeds of 60-80 mph with the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph across this zone.
Locations across central Michigan, Indiana, southeastern Illinois, western and northern Kentucky and Ohio will be at risk of robust storms Sunday afternoon and night. A potent cold front associated with this zone of low pressure will track eastward across the region and bring bands of storms that could produce large hail, damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes.
Severe storms on Sunday will be capable of stretching down into the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast as well. Flooding downpours, large hail and damaging wind gusts will be the primary hazards through Sunday night in a zone from far eastern Oklahoma to central Tennessee on southward to southern Alabama.
Another threat for severe weather will arise farther east on Monday as the parent storm advances into the Northeast. Atmospheric energy will transfer to the Eastern Seaboard as the frontal boundary trails from Pennsylvania down to the Carolinas and Gulf Coast. In the strongest thunderstorms from Sunday afternoon to Monday night, winds can gust to 60–80 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph possible in the strongest storms.
An influx of moisture from the South will be a key factor behind the train of storms marching into the Northeast.
Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
"As this moisture interacts with a series of fronts and disturbances coming across the Ohio Valley and Northeast early [this] week, drenching thunderstorms capable of producing a lot of rain in a short amount of time can occur. Those out driving will need to be cautious as downpours can reduce visibility and cause standing water and ponding on roadways to develop quickly," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
Following a relatively dry pattern in the Northeast during the latter half of spring, an extensive zone of the mid-Atlantic region is dealing with moderate to even severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Although the wet pattern will come with the risk of localized flooding and strong to severe thunderstorms, several days of damp weather may prove beneficial for the current drought situation in the Northeast.
Once rain and thunderstorms depart the Ohio Valley around the middle of the week, a brief cooldown may be in the cards from Indiana to parts of Virginia as cooler air from Canada sweeps in behind the zone of low pressure.
Places like Columbus, Ohio, and Charleston, West Virginia, are forecast to dip into the low to mid-70s F from Tuesday to Wednesday. Even locations such as Pittsburgh could have temperatures struggle to rise very far above 70 F on Wednesday.
Influx of moisture brings 'sticky' conditions
In addition to the risk of thunderstorms, residents throughout the Northeast will likely notice climbing dew points.
"A more sustained pattern of higher humidity is in place across the Northeast, Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley. The Gulf of Mexico will finally be open to the eastern half of the nation as a prolonged southerly flow allows tropical moisture to flow northward," Pydynowski said.
The amount of moisture found in the air can be measured by the dew point, which represents the temperature to which the air needs to be cooled (at a constant pressure) for the relative humidity to reach 100%. The higher the dew point, the higher the level of moisture that is present.
Dew points are expected to remain in the 60s Fahrenheit through most of the week, and could even surge into the lower 70s along the East Coast. For some Northeast residents, dew points reaching the 70-degree mark can be downright uncomfortable. Relief from the humidity levels may not arrive for the interior Northeast until the latter half of this week after the passage of a secondary storm tracking in from the Midwest.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
