East Coast Storm Will Dump Heavy Rain This Weekend

Tom Moore
Published: May 18,2016

Storm will produce heavy rain over the Southeast and up the East Coast

May, thus far, has featured a high number of cloudy days and frequent periods of rain for some major East Coast cities. This weekend will be no exception as a storm pushes out of the Southeast Friday to the Eastern Seaboard Friday night and Saturday.
Periods of heavy rain will fall from the storm as it moves up the East Coast and temperatures will be cool. Some effects will linger into early next week.

Saturday Setup For Heavy Rain

On Friday a storm system, loaded with moisture, will ride along with the subtropical jet stream through the Southeast resulting in heavy rain and a few thunderstorms. The storm will continue to develop Saturday as it progresses from the Carolinas to just off the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
As a result, rain will spread northward from Georgia and the Carolinas to at least southeast New York and southern sections of New England before the day is over.
Rain will be heavy at times and totals of one to one and a half inches can be expected over much of the affected area. An easterly (upslope) wind flow across the eastern side of the Appalachians will tend to enhance the rainfall and totals exceeding two inches are possible for some higher elevations.
The heaviest rain should gradually wind down across the Southeast coast during the morning hours and by mid-afternoon around Virginia and Maryland.
As the storm moves offshore Saturday night, rain will be mainly confined to New England. The heaviest rain and strongest wind gusts will be far more likely around the immediate coast, especially Cape Cod and the islands.
With all of the clouds and rain, temperatures will be quite cool for this time of year. For example, our forecast high for Washington, D.C. on Saturday is 58 degrees which is nearly 20 degrees below average for the date.
It has been a particularly frustrating period for those who reside in the D.C. area. Reagan National Airport has recorded measurable rain on 14 of the first 17 days in May. Cloudy skies (at least 7/8 of the sky covered in clouds) have been observed for 11 May days. Their high temperature has yet to reach 80 degrees so far this month.

Wet and cool conditions for the Eastern Seaboard Saturday

Sunday-Monday Lingering Effects

By late this weekend and early next week the main storm system will be well out to sea and the heavy rain will be long gone. With a dip in the jet stream across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States, an area of low pressure aloft will develop around the East Coast and it will be slow to move away.
Weather patterns like this are unlikely to produce significant rainfall. However, with daytime heating and cold air aloft clouds tend to form rapidly and scattered showers can be expected. Look for clouds and scattered showers on Sunday from the Carolinas back to the Appalachians and northward to Upstate New York and New England.
On Monday, we are expecting more clouds and scattered showers from Virginia up through eastern New York and much of New England.
Temperatures will moderate some during this period but will likely remain below seasonal averages. It will stay quite cool along the New England Coast, through Monday, including Boston.
(FORECAST: Raleigh | Washington, D.C. | Philadelphia | New York | Boston)

Low pressure aloft will produce unsettled conditions around the East Coast through early next week

Looking ahead to Tuesday,  there are some computer models that indicate that another storm could form off the East Coast and move up to New England by Tuesday night. This could mean more rain for parts of the Northeast but details will become more clear over time.
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