Soaking rain to spread across mid-Atlantic, Northeast this weekend

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

January 8,2016; 9:28PM,EST

 

 

A couple of quick-moving systems will affect the northeastern United States just in time to disrupt weekend travel and activities.
The first storm will be the weaker of the two, but it will have some chilly air to work with initially.
According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "Patchy fog can be a problem for a time throughout the mid-Atlantic, New England and the Upper Midwest into Saturday."
In addition to the fog, a few areas of patchy ice may form on colder, untreated surfaces in parts of the northern Appalachians into Saturday morning.
The second storm will bring heavier precipitation, but warmer air to the region.
"The heaviest rain will fall from Virginia to Pennsylvania on Saturday night before shifting into New England on Sunday," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson.

Despite the fast-moving nature of the second storm, rain could be heavy enough to cause travel disruptions on the roadways.
"While this will not be a prolonged heavy rain event, the rain could come down hard and cause minor flooding of streets and poor drainage areas," said Thompson.
Cities included in the swath of heaviest rainfall on Saturday night include Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. Heavy rain will move into New York City, Hartford, Connecticut, Boston and Portland, Maine, on Sunday.
Thompson added that many of these places will pick up over an inch of rain in the span of six to eight hours.
Motorists along Interstate 95 should use extra caution as there will likely be ponding on the roadways.
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In addition to the rain, record-challenging warmth is expected to surge northward ahead of this storm.
Cities across the Northeast will experience high temperatures that are 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal on Saturday and Sunday.

While the Northeast will deal with rain and warmth, locations along the northwestern flank of this system will contend with accumulating snow early this weekend as arctic air spills down into the central United States.
As the storm exits the Northeast on Monday, drier but much colder air is expected to pour into the region.
High temperatures will drop by over 20 degrees Fahrenheit from Sunday to Monday, which will be closer to more seasonable levels.
The cold air will remain entrenched across the Northeast into the middle of next week, allowing for lake-effect snow to ramp up downwind of the Great Lakes.