Flooding to threaten over a dozen states across eastern US early this week

By Andy Mussoline, Meteorologist

February 14,2016; 8:18PM,EST

 

 

Heavy rain will raise the risk of flooding and bring another dose of travel disruptions across more than a dozen states from the lower Mississippi Valley on Presidents Day to the East Coast on Tuesday.
The flood threat will initially target the metro areas of Nashville, Tennessee; Jackson and Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, on Monday.

Rainfall will total 1-3 inches across many areas over a 6- to 12-hour period. In addition to the flood threat, severe thunderstorms will threaten the lower Mississippi Valley.
The strongest thunderstorms will be capable of producing damaging winds and isolated tornadoes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
Blinding downpours and excess water on road surfaces could dangerously reduce visibility and lead to hydroplaning along interstates 10, 20,, 40, 55, 59, 75, and 85. Flash flooding could force officials to shut down some secondary roads.

The heavy rain will then sweep into Atlanta, Tallahassee, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday night. Some thunderstorms could still be severe during the evening hours.
Following a significant snow and ice storm, rain will drench parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast late Monday into Monday night and New England on Monday night into Tuesday.
Commuters who travel along the Interstate 95 corridor, from Washington, D.C., to New York City and Boston, may face slow travel conditions and long delays on the roadways during Tuesday. Delays at the airports are possible as well.
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"Tuesday's rainfall will be the first significant rain event for most of the I-95 corridor since Jan. 10," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said. "The hardened, frozen ground will contribute to the amount of runoff and flooding."
In most cases, flooding will occur in localized low-lying and poor-drainage areas along with smaller streams in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
"The threat for ice jams in the larger rivers will not be significant threat since the rain and accompanying warmup will be so brief," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

In addition to the risk of flash flooding, strong onshore winds will pile water up along the coast and create a coastal flood threat from the Carolinas to New England Monday night into Tuesday.
A powerful storm tracking from the Southeast to the Appalachians will be responsible for the torrential rain. There will be enough cold air on the northern and western side of the storm to bring a widespread snow and ice threat to the East.
The storm will depart the Northeast on Tuesday with another storm arriving from the Midwest on its heels. Snowfall from the midweek storm could range from being a mere nuisance to very disruptive over the central Appalachians and Northeast. A dose of cold air will follow the midweek storm.