3 Things We Are Watching This Week: Eastern Rain, Wind, Another Flooding Threat

Chris Dolce
Published: October 27,2015
From soaking rainfall, strong winds and even a little snow to another potential flood threat, here are three weather stories we are watching this week.
(MORE: 5 Things To Expect From El Nino This Winter)

1.) Eastern Storm Will Bring Widespread Rain and Commuting Hassles

Widespread rain will spread into the East as moisture and upper-level energy from the South combines with a storm system sweeping into the Midwest. Here is a timeline of when you can expect the rain to potentially cause travel hassles.
Tuesday: The bulk of the rain will be focused on the Southeast, Ohio Valley, mid-Mississippi Valley and the southern mid-Atlantic.
(CITIES: Atlanta | Chicago | Cincinnati | Raleigh | St. Louis)
Wednesday: Most of the Northeast will impacted by the rain, which could be heavy at times. This may result in both commuting delays on the roads and at all major airports in the region. Some minor or poor drainage flooding is also possible. The rain will also be accompanied by localized strong wind gusts.
(CITIES: Boston | New York | Pittsburgh | Philadelphia | Washington, D.C.)

Soaking rainfall impacts the Midwest and South.

Soaking rainfall impacts the Northeast.

The surface low pressure associated with the eastern soaking will also bring a variety of other impacts, which brings us to our second weather story this week.

2.) Strong Winds, Cool Air and a Little Snow Will Accompany the Eastern Storm

Strong Winds Setup

Low pressure will intensify significantly as it pivots from the Ohio Valley into the northern Great Lakes and Ontario Tuesday night through Wednesday.
As a result, strong winds will develop from the Plains to the Great Lakes on Wednesday. Most locations will see sustained winds of 15-30 mph with higher gusts.
The National Weather Service has posted high wind warnings for a few counties southeast of Lake Erie and east of Lake Ontario for wind gusts up 65 mph on Wednesday. Strong winds will persist throughout the Great Lakes again on Thursday.
Those strong winds will also filter in some cooler air, dropping temperatures a few degrees below average throughout the Midwest Wednesday into Thursday.
It might be just cold enough for some minor snow accumulations in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
High wind warnings and wind advisories have also been posted for the higher terrain across eastern Tennesse and southwestern Virginia, as well as portions of the North Carolina mountains Tuesday night into Wednesday. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph are possible with gusts up to 65 mph.
Strong south to southeast winds will also accompany the cold front along the Northeast seaboard as it sweeps through Wednesday and Wednesday night. Some gusts over 50 mph with power outages and downed limbs are possible from coastal New England to the Jersey shore and Delmarva peninsula.
(MORE: National Weather Maps)

3.) Another Flood Threat Might Be Brewing for the South-Central States

Potential Late Week Flood Threat Setup

One of the hardest hit areas was Corsicana, Texas, which saw more than 20 inches of rain late last week into the weekend. With the recent rains, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has now seen 46.67 inches of rain in 2015, making it the seventh wettest year on record there.
A southward dip in the jet stream will move from the West into the southern Plains late this week into the weekend.
Parts of the Southwest will see scattered showers and storms Thursday into Friday, while snow falls across the higher elevations of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
As the storm system moves east, heavy rain may once again impact parts of the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley Friday through this weekend, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Depending on how this weather system evolves, we could see multiple rounds of rain across the same areas. Of course, that scenario would lead to the potential for more flooding. Conversely, if the weather system moves along progressively, that would reduce the threat of flooding.
Stayed tuned for updates later this week on the potential flood threat.

MORE: October 2015 Flooding Photos