Storms may cause more trouble in Northeast
The rain is much-needed to make a dent in drought conditions, but AccuWeather forecasters are concerned that there could be enough rain to trigger flooding in some places.
It's been a rather dry summer across much of the northeastern United States so far, with some locations even in the midst of drought conditions. But AccuWeather forecasters say a pattern change that unleashed drenching storms Sunday continued to bring some much-needed rain to the region through Tuesday.
More thunderstorms swept across New England, particularly along the Interstate 95 corridor north of Philadelphia. Storms in Providence, Rhode Island, caused flash flooding on a portion of I-95, with traffic backups on the road creating a scary scene for drivers. Farther west, the overall coverage of stormy weather began to decrease.
Parts of the interior Northeast had already encountered soaking storms on Sunday, with large portions of Pennsylvania and southern New York picking up 0.50-1.75 inches of rain. For area travelers, heavy storms made driving conditions dangerous as visibilities plummeted to near-zero and ponding developed on roadways.
Storms in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, hampered play for the Little League World Series Sunday and ultimately led to several delays and even forced games to be rescheduled.
Forecasters say more potentially disruptive storms of this variety were in store into Tuesday night.
Fans walk around the Little League World Series complex during a weather delay in baseball games at the Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
"A slow-moving area of low pressure located over the Northeast is poised to drench much of the region with rounds of showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be capable of producing heavy downpours, early this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Sadvary explained.
The atmosphere will continue to have an abundance of moisture available across much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast into Tuesday night. As storms develop each day, these storms will be able to tap into this robust moisture and bring it quickly to the ground.
In this radar image from mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, storms can be seen from northern New York to central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The most intense storms were erupting across southern and western New England.
Showers and thunderstorms also impacted a large swath of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada Monday, but some of the heaviest storms centered close to the Eastern Seaboard. Thunderstorms not far from Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Monday afternoon dropped hail, and gusty winds from those storms even brought down several large tree limbs and damaged the roof of a home.
Much of the region is experiencing some level of drought, Sadvary noted. Eastern Massachusetts, far eastern Connecticut and the entirety of Rhode Island are in the midst of extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought is the second-highest level of drought reported.
"Downpours and droughts often don't mix well together," Sadvary cautioned. "Localized flooding issues are likely to arise within some of these pockets of downpours, which can be capable of producing rainfall rates of up to 1-2 inches per hour."
"While this rain is much-needed, the dry ground will struggle to absorb an increase of water of this magnitude," Sadvary said.
Early this week, residents of the Northeast, especially those who live in low-lying areas or near rivers and streams, will need to keep an eye out for rising water as thunderstorms push through their area.
As for the Little League World Series, where teams from around the globe descend on Pennsylvania to compete for the title of champion, the threat of soggy weather is likely unwelcome news.
Compared to Sunday and Monday, storm coverage in north-central Pennsylvania will be more isolated in nature through Tuesday night.
"However, the chance for more disruptions will be non-zero as spotty storms will still be near the area, especially in the Tuesday afternoon and evening hours," Hyde added.
By midweek, drier conditions are forecast to build across much of the Northeast, with the exception of northern New England. Temperatures closer to average for late August will also make a return beginning Wednesday.
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