When will wet weather return to northeast US?
More rain is brewing for at least part of the Northeast this week as multiple storms line up for the region.
Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter breaks down the day-by-day features that will help you stay on top of the weather in your local area with help from the free AccuWeather app.
Over the Mother's Day weekend, the northeastern United States successfully won a battle for a break from the rain. But how long will the pleasant conditions last? AccuWeather meteorologists offer some answers, and it's not good news for part of the region.
Storms from last week to the start of the Mother's Day weekend brought anywhere from a few tenths of an inch to a few inches of rain to the Northeast. While the rain and ongoing spring green-up helped to ease the spring wildfire situation, millions were looking forward to some dry weather over the weekend. Mother Nature came through.
Much of the region will be able to enjoy another dry day on Monday with a cool morning followed by a warm afternoon, courtesy of strong mid-May sunshine.
Looking ahead, however, the area of high pressure and its associated dry air will not last long in the region.
A slow-moving storm that has been responsible for rounds of showers and thunderstorms in the Southeast for multiple days since last week will begin to creep northward this week.
Moisture in the form of building clouds, showers and thunderstorms from that Southern storm will overwhelm the dry air from south to north beginning on Monday in Virginia and West Virginia.
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By Tuesday, a shift in the jet stream will allow the southern storm and its drenching downpours to expand farther to the north and overspread much of the central Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic region.
New York City may be on the northern edge of that moisture, with rain possibly holding off until the afternoon on Tuesday. Much of northern and eastern New England should remain dry. Showers and spotty thunderstorms are forecast to spread into the southern part of the Great Lakes region.
The downpours can become frequent or intense enough to cause travel problems in portions of the Interstate 81 and 95 corridors from northern Maryland through Virginia.
From later Monday to Wednesday in this zone, a general 1-2 inches of rain will fall with patches where 2-4 inches can pour down. Small streams and drainage canals can quickly surge and some city streets could take on water during the heaviest downpours.
On a positive note on the rain aspect, part of this region missed out on drenching rain from last week, AccuWeather Meteorologist Elizabeth Danco said.
“The rain will be much welcomed to areas in drought, including in Philadelphia, where only 11% of the average precipitation for the month of May has occurred so far," Danco said.
Charlottesville, Virginia; Salisbury, Maryland; Dover, Delaware; and Millville, New Jersey, are among the towns and cities that have received less than 20% of the average rainfall for May thus far.
"So the moisture is needed for further drought and wildfire relief in parts of the mid-Atlantic, unless there are outdoor plans, travel or construction projects on the docket," Danco said.
By the middle of the week, the overall intensity and focus of downpours on the mid-Atlantic region may ease. But, the overall moisture zone will likely spread out.
The period from Wednesday to Thursday may be the most likely time for Boston to pick up some showers this week.
It may take until the end of the week for the jet stream to open up enough to allow additional storms to move from west to east with rounds of rain and thunder to reach northern New England. This also means more opportunities for rain for the balance of the Northeast.
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