WeatherFanatics: Severe Storms Ignite Across Interior Northeast, Front Range

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Severe Storms Ignite Across Interior Northeast, Front Range

By Jordan Root, Meteorologist

June 24,2014; 8:50PM,EDT

Folks in the interior Northeast, eastern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Front Range will want to play close attention to the weather into Tuesday evening.
National Weather Service officials confirmed that it was a tornado that caused damage in Plainfield, Indiana, near Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during Tuesday afternoon.
According to Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, "The storm that caused the tornado was part of a disturbance tracking northeastward, which could produce a few additional tornadoes as it moves across eastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio into Tuesday evening."
Additional severe storms are expected to ignite and could impact the evening commute.
"Fortunately we are only looking at isolated incidents of damaging thunderstorms and very isolated tornadoes but people spending time outdoors should realize that you do not need a severe thunderstorm to be at risk for a lightning strike," Sosnowski said.
Those who have outdoor plans will want to keep an eye out for rapidly changing weather conditions.

Uptick in Humidity, Cool Front to Aid in Severe Storms Across the Interior Northeast, Ohio Valley

After several days of low humidity and comfortable weather, Monday took a complete turnaround for some folks across the eastern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
A warm front ushered in warmer air and most noticeably, higher humidity as southerly winds took over.
The dew point, a variable used to measure the amount of moisture in the air, jumped nearly 10 degrees from Sunday to Monday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
This moist air will continue to progress east through the day on Tuesday and will help provide the fuel and instability for severe thunderstorms.

An approaching cool front will provide the kicker to get these storms shooting up into the atmosphere.
The area that is most concerning for storms spans from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Burlington, Vermont. Other cities that will be in the threat zone include Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Youngstown, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; Rochester, New York; and Syracuse, New York.
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With the abundant moisture to feed off of, these storms will provide heavy downpours that could lead to flash flooding. Motorists are urged to turn around if they encounter high water on the roadway.
Gusty winds are also likely, especially if these storms form into a squall line. These winds could be damaging to property, trees and power lines.
A couple of the strongest thunderstorms can produce a tornado as well.
Although most of the severe weather will end by Tuesday night, storms will re-fire on Wednesday farther east and will bring heavy downpours to New England and the I-95 corridor.

More Severe Weather for the Front Range, High Plains

Those living along the Front Range and across the High Plains will face another round of severe storms on Tuesday.
Monday featured hail-producing thunderstorms across eastern Colorado with a few storms producing hail near 2 inches in diameter.
A similar situation is expected into Tuesday evening across this area.

Storms will initiate along the Front Range during the as winds back against the mountains and the atmosphere becomes unstable.
Large hail, damaging winds and torrential downpours are possible from these storms. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out either, especially in the afternoon and evening.
These storms will likely form a line and blast to the southeast across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles on Tuesday night.
A few cities that could be impacted by these storms include Cheyenne, Wyoming; Denver, Colorado; Amarillo, Texas; and Lubbock, Texas.
Blinding downpours could impact drivers on I-25, I-40, I-70, and I-76. Folks will want to watch out for dust storms as well.
Gusty winds out ahead of a thunderstorm in Kansas on Sunday filled the air with dust and brought visibility to near zero.
The rain from these storms will be greatly appreciated by drought-stricken areas such as the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas.
Another round of severe storms are possible again on Wednesday across eastern Colorado and farther north to Montana.

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