Flash flooding, severe storms may interfere with travel in NYC, Philly and DC
Have outdoor activities or travel plans in store into Monday in the eastern United States? If so, get ready to dodge downpours, flooded roads and locally severe thunderstorms.
A man was able to rescue a disabled motorist and his dog from flood waters in Southbury, Connecticut, on Aug. 18.
Into Monday night, drenching rain and thunderstorms crawling across the East continued to interfere with commutes and outdoor plans before the much-needed arrival of cooler, less humid and drier weather.
A slow-moving storm and trailing front tapped into a zone of warm and moist air from near the Appalachians to the Atlantic coast, leading to drenching showers and thunderstorms across the region. Similar to over the weekend, some of the storms in this atmospheric setup turned feisty with damaging wind gusts, as well as heavy rain and flash flooding concerns.
Reports of wind damage stretched from western North Carolina to eastern Virginia on Monday.
Slow-moving thunderstorms recently unloaded 6-10 inches of rain on portions of Connecticut and southeastern New York in 24 hours. The rounds of repeating downpours unleashed flash flooding of small streams and sent water flowing across low-lying roads.
The main reason that the Northeast did not experience widespread major river flooding from Debby was that intense rain fell in a narrow zone that affected mainly rural communities in the Appalachians rather than widespread heavy rainfall over the entire watershed of the large rivers, AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin explained.
This image shows accumulated rainfall from Monday, Aug. 5, to Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Much of the rain occurred due to Debby, which was a tropical storm that transitioned to a tropical rainstorm.
Farther south, Debby was not so kind to the Carolinas and part of Georgia. This zone was swamped by torrential rainfall over a broad area encompassing many major river systems. Rivers in the lowlands continued to run at moderate to high flood levels, with some not forecast to crest until late in the weekend or later this week.
This image shows accumulated rainfall from Monday, Aug. 5, to Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Much of the rain occurred due to Debby, which was a tropical storm that transitioned to a tropical rainstorm.
Meanwhile, those at the beaches may face another dangerous problem. AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn of the risk of frequent and strong rip currents due to Hurricane Ernesto, which passed near Newfoundland early Tuesday morning.
By Tuesday, much of the Northeast will trend drier than what has been the theme the last few days.
Forecasters say that there may be a few stubborn showers in New England, but a building zone of high pressure tracking eastward from the Great Lakes will promote dry conditions across the rest of the Northeast for the middle of the week.
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