Wet week ahead for eastern US as 3 storms roll through
Umbrellas and raincoats will be needed throughout most of the week in the Northeast as three storms drench the region, increasing the risk of travel problems and flash flooding.
AccuWeather Preparedness Expert Tom Bedard offers tips on avoiding the dangers of major flooding events as the impacts of significant flash flooding inundate the northeastern United States.
Three storms will swing through the eastern United States into this weekend, delivering soaking rain that may lead to disruptions in outdoor activities despite the mild weather pattern, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
"The multiple rounds of rain will lead to travel delays with periodic increased flood risk in urban areas," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
A general 2-4 inches of rain will fall from just east of the central Appalachians to the mid-Atlantic coast and across central and southeastern New England through Sunday. In parts of southeastern New England and the Southeastern states, local amounts to 6 inches of rain may occur.
A small and tightly wound storm spread rain northward prior to midweek, but impacts from that first storm were more of a nuisance, with the usual rainy travel conditions and patchy fog.
Hot on the heels of that first storm, a new storm will soon take shape and then swing northward along the Atlantic coast.
"A second storm is expected to intensify across the Southeast from Tuesday to Wednesday and will pose a risk for heavy rain in places like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning," Buckingham explained.
The Wednesday evening commute along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City could be a wet and slow go as a result. In Boston, the worst commute of the week is likely to be Thursday morning. Motorists should be prepared for significant ponding along highways, streets and underpasses that drain poorly.
Low clouds and fog associated with the storm may also trigger a number of airline delays.
"The atmosphere is expected to quickly reload with moisture late week across the East, posing an even bigger risk for the third storm of the week across the region this weekend," Buckingham said.
Due to the frequent rounds of rain, each storm will lead to greater runoff than the storm before and further heighten the risk of flooding.
By the time the third storm rolls in, small streams may be near bank full and some of the larger rivers may be on the rise.
Each successive storm this week will grow in size. By the time the third storm rolls northeastward this weekend, areas of rain will be abundant not only in the Appalachians but also in a large part of the Midwest as well.
Aside from spotty showers on a couple of occasions for most of the week, cities such as Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis are most likely to get drenched for multiple hours beginning sometime Friday, depending on location, and continuing into Saturday before chillier and drier air filters in on brisk northwesterly winds on Sunday.
Between each storm, there will only be about 24 hours or so of a break of dry weather. However, during that time, with the lack of any real cold air around and where the sun is out for a few hours, temperatures will rebound to levels more typical of April and, in some cases, June. Where clouds break and rain holds off during the day, temperatures may reach well into the 50s and 60s F. Some locations in the mid-Atlantic could even top the 70-degree mark.
In many cases, mild nights, rounds of rain and the lack of cold air will tend to deplete the snow on the ski slopes through the week and into the weekend. Skiers may want to take to the slopes over the next day or two instead of waiting until the weekend, as most resorts will not be able to make snow in the pattern that is expected into Sunday.
Only the third storm may have a bit of cold air to work with to bring snow or a wintry mix. However, that is likely to be confined to northern New England. As colder air sweeps in on the storm's backside, rain may end as snow showers from the central Appalachians to the eastern Great Lakes.
As each storm swings through the Southeastern states before reaching the Northeast, some thunderstorms may become severe.
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