Northeastern US: Fewer thunderstorms to come at price of increased cooling costs this week
The northeastern United States will not face another onslaught of downpours despite showers and thunderstorms returning this week, but residents will be cranking up air conditioners more than in recent weeks.
An end to the nice weather across the Northeast will come early this week, with showers and thunderstorms forecast to be present across a part of the Northeast each day this week. However, not every community will receive rain on a daily basis.
That is definitely good news for farmers waiting for fields to dry out, construction crews looking to get projects done and anyone else with outdoor plans.
"High pressure will begin to move out of the Northeast on Monday, but Boston and the rest of New England and upstate New York will stay dry and pleasant," according to AccuWeather Meteorology Intern Adam Sadvary.
"Those planning on spending time outdoors in New York City or going to the game between the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays in the evening should not worry about seeing any showers," Sadvary stated.
New York City, however, will join all of the mid-Atlantic in turning more humid on Monday.
A stray thunderstorm may rumble over Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on Monday, but places along and west of the Appalachian Mountains may face the stormiest conditions.
Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania, will be among the communities across the eastern Ohio Valley and northward to around Lake Erie at risk for downpours and severe thunderstorms on Monday and Monday evening.
Rain and thunderstorms will continue to advance across the Northeast Monday night into Tuesday.
"Thunderstorms can still produce gusty winds as they track across the rest of Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York on Monday night and into early Tuesday," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
On June 20, heavy storms pounded Richland, New Jersey with violent rains. While not expected to last a long time, flash flood warnings were broadcast to the town, and the surrounding areas.
Some rain and thunderstorms can slow down the Tuesday morning commute from New York City to Philadelphia before drier weather returns in the afternoon.
The wet weather will make the rain gear a necessity and cause disruptions to outdoor activities for many in upstate New York and New England. Temperatures may fail or struggle to climb out of the 60s from Portland, Maine, to Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.
On the other hand, most of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic will be dry with only spotty showers and thunderstorms dotting a few communities.
Heat will surge back across the mid-Atlantic with temperatures approaching or cracking the 90-degree mark northward to around Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia is on track to have its first heat wave (three consecutive days of highs at or above 90) of the year as the heat holds across the mid-Atlantic through late week. Warmth and humidity will also build back across upstate New York and New England with widespread highs in the 80s from Wednesday to Friday.
Residents who have yet to put in window air conditioning units may find themselves completing that task this week. Those who work outdoors will also have to take necessary precautions to avoid heat exhaustion.
Many fields across the Northeast are still too wet after the recent onslaught of downpours. A tractor left tracks in this field near Mansfield, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Bill Baker)
The sticky air can continue to fuel thunderstorms across only a fraction of the Northeast during the second half of the week.
The theme of drier weather is expected to continue into early July, according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
"The period from the final three days of the month to the start of July may even be drier than normal for most areas as high pressure can be dominant for a couple of days," he said.
Download the free AccuWeather app to receive a more detailed forecast for your community. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
