Rain, storms and high winds to blast northeastern US at midweek

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

February 23,2016; 11:51AM,EST

 

 

Following a dose of light rain with spotty ice and snow into Wednesday, a more substantial storm will spread heavy rain and the risk of flooding and damaging wind to the northeastern United States during Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.
The same storm will bring heavy snow to parts of the Midwest and a tornado outbreak in the Southern states.
"With the storm taking a track west of the Appalachians, warmer air will stream northward over much of the eastern quarter of the nation, resulting in rain for many areas," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams.
During Tuesday night and early Wednesday, enough cold air will be in place to allow pockets of freezing rain, sleet and snow. Most of the ice will be short-lived and generally limited to areas from central and northern Pennsylvania and upstate New York to interior New England.

Along Interstate 95, the storm will be all rain in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain may precede the rain from New York City to Boston and Portland, Maine.
The heaviest and steadiest rain in most locations and will swing northeastward across the mid-Atlantic states during Wednesday and Wednesday night, before affecting New England Wednesday night into Thursday.

Winds will increase along with the rain later Wednesday and Wednesday night.
While the greatest risk of severe thunderstorms will stretch from Virginia on south, it is possible the storm may produce a squall line, which is a combination of brief torrential downpours and strong winds, along much of the I-95 corridor.
"This week's squall will hit Wednesday night, after most people are home from work and school from Washington, D.C., to New York City," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
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The squall will hit portions of New England during part of the Thursday morning rush hour, including Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; Boston; and Portland, Maine.
The squall will be potent enough to cause poor visibility and a risk of hydroplaning for motorists, as well as the potential for airline delays. Most gusts will range between 40 and 50 mph but can be locally higher.
In addition to the threat for urban flooding, downed tree limbs and sporadic power outages, there could also be a period of coastal flooding.
"Strong south to southeast winds will push Atlantic Ocean water toward Long Island and the southern coast of New England with the risk of minor coastal flooding at times of high tide during Wednesday night," Pydynowski said.
Away from the Atlantic Seaboard, the second batch of rain will be longer lasting and will thoroughly drench areas from western Virginia and West Virginia to northern Maine. This includes Charleston, West Virginia; Pittsburgh; and Buffalo, New York. At the tail end of the storm, during Thursday into Thursday night, enough cold air will filter in to allow snow showers in these areas.
Up to a few inches of snow may fall from parts of the Appalachians to the lower Great Lakes as colder air circulates in and lake-effect develops prior to the end of the week.