More stormy downpours for Northeast, but heatwave is on horizon
Neighborhoods will be abuzz with lawnmowers as downpours continue while golfers dodge lightning bolts in the coming days, but some big heat has eyes for the east before the end of June.
A state of emergency was declared as widespread flash flooding in parts of West Virginia caused several deaths and left thousands without power.
Moisture will not be in short supply for the next week or so in the Northeast and Midwest, as evidenced by high humidity levels and frequent showers and thunderstorms, AccuWeather meteorologists say. But around the official start of astronomical summer, building heat in the West is forecast to fight its way to the East.
Mother Nature left the water running
Problems from a lack of rain in the Northeast are a thing of the past as the dry spring pattern flipped during May and never looked back. Nearly every location in the Northeast has experienced near to above the historical average rainfall since May 1, with some areas receiving 150-200% of typical amounts.
The frequent rainfall has made it difficult for construction and landscaping projects and for farmers to access the fields to plow or maintain their crops. The landscape is lush, green and growing fast—just ask anyone in the lawn mowing business.
Leaky faucet won't be easy to fix
The pattern for the next five to seven days will feature a continuation of rounds of showers and thunderstorms. In some cases, the downpours can persist and be so intense as to lead to dangerous flash flooding.
While it will certainly not rain constantly, there will be episodes when it rains for several hours and often enough to spoil outdoor work and recreation activities in much of the Northeast. And, in some cases, too much rain will fall on saturated ground and lead to flash flooding along small streams and in urban areas.
Many of the showers and thunderstorms will tend to occur from mid-afternoon to mid-evening and many will avoid the beaches. However, there will be some exceptions on a given day, where just the opposite may occur, as storm systems will move along from west to east.
The heating of the day will give some of the thunderstorms a boost, especially when a front or storm system is moving through. Some communities will be blasted by heavy, gusty, and severe thunderstorms and flooding downpours.
Heatwaves brewing
The high humidity can make even highs in the 70s to the mid-80s F feel like a sauna, and there will be a couple of days where actual temperatures approach or exceed 90, especially along the Interstate 95 corridor.
However, big heat will build over the central U.S. in the coming days and there are signs that a least a small bubble or two will propagate toward the Atlantic coast toward the end of the week and into the last week of June.
It is possible that a significant heat bubble will form in the region before the end of June or by early next week.
"While the amount of moisture in the soil may hold actual temperatures back just a bit as opposed to if the ground were dry, widespread highs in the 90s are likely," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill said, "When factoring in moderate to high humidity levels, it may feel quite oppressive when the heat breaks loose with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures well above 100 in the afternoons."
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For many areas from the Midwest to the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic, and perhaps parts of New England, the first heatwaves of the year will occur from later next week through the end of June.
"Detroit has peaked at 88 degrees so far this year; New York City has only reached 87 and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh only mustering 86," Merrill said, "While locations such as Washington, D.C., Balitmore and Philadelphia have exceeded 90 and Boston has achieved 89 so far, the upcoming conditions will bring the hottest weather of the summer to much of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and the I-95 corridor."
"Don't expect much relief at night with widespread low temperatures in the 70s for most of the latter third of June," Merrill added. Exceptions will be where downpours occur in the evening, as they could briefly knock temperatures down into the 60s, but at a price of even higher humidity levels.
Summer officially arrives on the summer solstice, which occurs on Friday, June 20, at 10:41 p.m. This year, it could be a good indicator as to when the real summer heat will arrive in the Northeast.
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