Rain for I-95 Corridor

By Elliot Abrams, Chief Meteorologist

October 15,2012; 6:25PM,EDT

 

 

Issue: Rain
What, When and Where:
A band of rain that moved through Virginia and eastern Maryland this morning was poised at noon to cause a rainy afternoon and a wet and splashy commute for Philadelphia, New York City and nearby places. After school sports will be affected in a number of localities.
This is more than a passing shower; some places will have at least two hours of rain. The rain will depart from Philadelphia after dark, and New York City by midnight. Some of the rain will affect eastern New England, including Boston, overnight. All places will see an increase in sunshine tomorrow.
Reasons for this prediction:
This midday radar display from the Dover, Del., radar shows where the rain was just before noon.

This computer model for the six hours ending at 8 p.m. EDT shows an area with substantial rain:

Short-range computer models usually have highest accuracy. The rain area behaved this morning as predicted by this model.
Caveats:
The radar does not show just one solid area of rain, so the rain can start and stop at your location. No lightning was observed in this rain area before noon, but that could change during the afternoon. In areas with little wind after the rain stops, fog could form.