Gusty, soaking storms to disrupt Friday travel along I-95 corridor

Waves of heavy rain and strong thunderstorms will target areas from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the Outer Banks on Friday.

Many major East Coast cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., can expect disruptive weather.

“Pockets of rain today and early tonight along the I-95 corridor will be heavy enough to cause flooding of poor-drainage areas, as well as of some streets and highways,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Babinski.

Those on the road should turn on their headlights and slow down during periods of heavy rain as visibility decreases and the threat of hydroplaning increases.

Drivers should also avoid driving through flooded roadways.

Anyone traveling through airports in these regions should anticipate delays.

While flooding will be the greatest threat in northern Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southeastern New York and southern New England, severe thunderstorms will spark farther south.

“The greatest threat for thunderstorms this afternoon, which can produce damaging wind gusts and hail, will be across Maryland, Delaware, northern and central Virginia and south-central Pennsylvania,” said Babinski.

Shortly after 5 a.m. EDT Friday morning, an EF1 tornado was confirmed to have caused structural damage to several homes near the town of Oxford, North Carolina.

Precautions can be taken to limit damage caused by strong winds, such as securing outdoor furniture or moving it indoors.

Residents should keep up to date on local watches and warnings and seek shelter in a sturdy building should threatening weather approach.

“Most areas will receive 1-2 inches of rain by Friday night,” Babinski said.

Drier air is expected to filter in behind these storms, allowing calmer afternoon weather to prevail around the Chesapeake Bay.

While the intensity of the precipitation will diminish later in the day in the mid-Atlantic, rounds of heavy rain will continue to batter New England through the night.

On-and-off showers are expected to make for a dreary day on Saturday, though the threat for renewed flooding will be gone.

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