Unusually horrid nasty June weather is expected for much of the North East. A Summer-storm will span the central eastern half of the states Thursday through Friday with a mixture of torrential downpours, strong winds and severe thunderstorm risk. Winds could gust as high as 40mph for inland parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
The National Weather Service have issued flood watches through the Appalachians, from southern Illinois right through to Maryland and the East Coast.
Credit: Pivotal weather
Whilst flooding rain is a concern for many, for example in the areas mentioned, other risks include severe thunderstorms. As the system “hooks up” into a Noreaster type feature later on Thursday and into Friday, instability will increase, thus increasing the risk of severe thunderstorms. Accuweather have said “tornadoes, large hail, flash flooding and damaging winds” are likely in the severe thunderstorms.
Precipitation accumulation charts show a large swathe of 1-2 inches of rainfall by Friday evening, with the great lakes escaping the higher accumulations, although the south side of lake Erie does get an inch or so. Locally up to 4 inches could fall, however, as the resolution of the GFS weather model is not enough to pick up on localized severe thunderstorms and / or micro climate affects.
Keep a close eye on local reports and of course the National Weather Service as the severe weather risk bumps up into Thursday and Friday. Tornado activity is also possible – some strong tornadoes are also possible, on the south western side of the system as it wraps round and becomes unstable later on Thursday and into Friday. Be prepared for the risk.