Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Atlantic Storm to Lash Florida to New Jersey This Week

By , AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist
September 22,2015; 10:13PM,EDT
 
 
A storm over the Atlantic Ocean will bring drenching rain and gusty winds to part of the Southeast United States this week. The storm will move slowly northward this weekend.
The storm will cause problems at the coast and could lead to travel delays to parts of the Interstate 85 and 95 corridors.
JUMP TO: Timing the Rain | Coastal Flooding, Other Concerns
There is a slight possibility that the storm could take on tropical characteristics before crawling onshore.
Regardless of tropical development or not, the storm system and its rain are taking aim at the Atlantic Seaboard.
Coastal Impacts Felt from Outer Banks to Myrtle Beach
Timing the Rain
Rain will affect areas from parts of Florida to southern Virginia during Wednesday through Friday. During this time, the bulk of the rain will focus from Georgia to North Carolina, where amounts in many areas will range from 1-3 inches.
Some of the rain could reach as far inland as the southern Appalachians.

During Friday into Saturday, the storm is likely to begin to expand northward through Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula.
In the Northeast, one area of high pressure will be replaced by another as the week progresses.
Initially, the high pressure areas will hold the southern rain in check.
No rain should impact the pope's visit to Washington, D.C., and New York City during the week.
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However, there will be an increasing chance of rain Saturday night and Sunday in Philadelphia as high pressure over New England weakens enough to allow the southern Atlantic Seaboard storm to move northward.

Sunday could turn out to be a windy, rainy and nasty day along much of the mid-Atlantic coast should the storm continue its northward crawl.
If rain reaches New England from the storm, it would not likely be until the last part of the weekend at the earliest in Connecticut, Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
While rain is needed in parts of the East, too much rain could fall too fast which could lead to flash flooding. The combination of rain and wind will cause poor visibility for motorists.
Coastal Flooding, Other Concerns
The weather pattern will cause northeasterly winds to increase along the middle part of the U.S. coast.
Rough seas and surf will far precede the rain from the storm.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski, "As winds pick up, seas will build and rip currents will increase between high pressure to the north and the storm to the south."
As of Tuesday, seas have built to 6-10 feet off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
Winds along the coast can gust past 40 mph.
Gusty winds and low cloud ceilings could cause delays for departing flights.
In addition to the rough seas and stiff winds, some beach erosion and coastal flooding could occur due to the long-duration and slow-moving storm from Tybee Island, Georgia, to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
In the area from northeastern North Carolina to New Jersey, the effects of the storm will coincide with the proximity of the full supermoon and high astronomical tides.
Atlantic coast communities and property owners along the back bays may want to take preventative action.
Tides generated by the storm may run about 2 feet above published levels.
"The astronomical tides are accounted for in publications," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams said. "However, the astronomical part of the tides this weekend will be higher than most days of the year."
The combination of high astronomical tides and storm tide can cause inundation in areas that typically do not have flooding from either a spring tide or from a storm.
Bathers, boaters and cruise ships will need to exercise caution and heed advisories as they are issued. Many of the beaches do not have lifeguards on duty this late in the season. Rip currents will be much stronger and more frequent than average.
Just as residents, vacationers and cruise interests along the U.S. southern Atlantic coast should monitor the weather this week, people from the U.S. Gulf Coast to southeastern Mexico should keep an eye on the tropics next week.
There is some indication that a tropical system may form near the Yucatan Peninsula and drift northward toward the upper Gulf of Mexico coast next week.
Meanwhile, Ida will continue to churn waters in the central Atlantic and could strengthen to a hurricane this week. However, Ida is not a threat to any land areas at this time.
 

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