Areas of Heavy Rain, Flooding Threaten Midwest to East Coast This Week

Brian Donegan
Published: July 3,2017
In classic early-July fashion, thunderstorms will threaten areas from the Midwest to the East Coast this week, bringing the potential for heavy rain which could yield localized flash flooding.
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Waves of low pressure will ride along a stalled frontal boundary, causing areas of thunderstorms to develop in portions of the Midwest and South through midweek, before the storms shift toward the East by late week.

Widespread severe weather is unexpected, although damaging wind gusts and hail may accompany some of these thunderstorms. The main threat, however, will be locally heavy rainfall with the potential for flash flooding.
Tuesday, scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected from the mid-Atlantic and Southeast to the Plains states. Parts of southeast Kansas and eastern Oklahoma into Arkansas and southwest Missouri will run the greatest risk for flash flooding from these storms.

Tuesday's Forecast

The best chance for heavy rain Wednesday will be in a swath from eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin southward into northern Arkansas and west Tennessee, where localized flash flooding may occur.
Additional scattered thunderstorms are possible in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions from a separate disturbance.

Wednesday's Forecast

The main area of thunderstorms will slide a bit east by Thursday, targeting a swath from the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the mid-South.
Locally heavy downpours are likely in this corridor, which may lead to some areas of flash flooding.
Isolated storms may pop up in the afternoon from northern New England to central New York, with scattered thunderstorms possible in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
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Thursday's Forecast

A broad swath from New England to the Ohio Valley will run the risk for thunderstorms capable of flash flooding on Friday.
Portions of the interior Northeast are already waterlogged from heavy rainfall that occurred over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, not to mention the wet spring and early summer in much of the region.
Many rivers, creeks, streams and lakes continue to run high, so any additional heavy rain later this week could be cause for concern.

Friday's Forecast

Areas from the central Plains to the mid-South and Southeast coast are forecast to pick up 1 to 3 inches of rainfall over the next few days, with localized locations receiving more than 3 inches.
In addition, a corridor from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic and interior Northeast may also receive 1 to 3 inches of rainfall by Saturday.

Rainfall Forecast

Recent Flooding in the Interior Northeast

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, significant flooding occurred from parts of New York's Finger Lakes region into portions of New Hampshire.
Severe flash flooding occurred Saturday in Utica, New York, where highways were closed as water rose above street level and swallowed some cars.
Oneida Creek at Oneida, New York, crested at major flood stage early Sunday morning, above the level at which it crested during Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.
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MORE: Plains Severe Weather, South Flooding

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