Flooding downpours, severe thunderstorms to trigger midweek travel delays along I-95
Flooding downpours, strong wind gusts and severe thunderstorms, some packing tornadoes, will sweep across the Atlantic Seaboard into Wednesday night, creating a risk to lives and property, power outages and significant travel delays, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
The rain and thunderstorms associated with an advancing cold front will span about 100 miles in width but extend more than 1,000 miles from north to south. Because of this, the heaviest rain and the greatest risk of thunderstorms may only last 6 hours or less in most areas, but the extent of the rain can create havoc for travelers over a broad area in the East from Wednesday to Wednesday night.
Enough rain will fall, combined with melting snow, to lead to small stream and river flooding in the northern tier of the Northeast and the southern tier of southeastern Canada. Ice jams could make matters much worse.
"The rain will be intense enough to knock down or cease the wildfire threat temporarily but will also trigger localized urban flooding of city streets and poor drainage areas along the highways," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said.Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
The risk of thunderstorms containing damaging winds will extend from upstate New York southward to Florida into Wednesday evening. The greatest risk of brief, spin-up tornadoes will be from portions of the Chesapeake Bay to coastal areas of Georgia. Wind gusts in the thunderstorm activity are forecast to range between 65 and 75 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gust of 90 mph.
Even without thunderstorms, strong wind gusts will occur in the downpours and ahead of and behind the rain. The gusts can be strong enough to break tree limbs, knock over poorly rooted trees and trigger sporadic power outages.
The strongest winds will shift from the Mississippi and Ohio valleys to the central and southern Appalachians into Wednesday night and then to much of the Northeast Thursday.
The strong winds were creating blizzard conditions over portions of the Plains and the Upper Midwest Wednesday on the storm's colder side.
The gusty winds will usher in colder air across the balance of the Midwest and Northeast and will set the stage for a strip of accumulating snow that will develop from the Rockies to the central Appalachians late this week and into this weekend.
AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring the potential for multiple rounds of severe weather next week. In particular, a storm from next Friday to the third weekend of March could spark a significant outbreak of severe weather across the central United States.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
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