Soaking rain to erase evidence of Blizzard of 2016 in northeastern US

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

February 1,2016; 9:50PM,EST

 

 

A soaking rain will spread across the eastern United States during the middle of the week, drenching areas from Atlanta to New York City and Boston.
The storm system responsible for the heavy rain is the same one that unleashed rain and gusty winds in Southern California, as well as blizzard conditions in the central U.S.
A soaking rain will move in from the west, arriving Wednesday morning and intensifying during the afternoon.
"Rainfall will range between 0.50 of an inch to 1.50 inches from the Gulf Coast to New England," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said.
"Some locations of northern Maine may start out as a period of snow or ice before changing over to rain," Rathbun added.

The heaviest rain is expected to move through the Northeast's Interstate-95 corridor around the same time as the Wednesday evening commute, which can lead to travel delays on the roadways as well as at the airports.
Commuters from Boston to Washington, D.C., should allow extra time for travel as the heavy rain will cause traffic to slow as well as increase the chance of accidents on the highway. Ponding of water on roads can also cause some cars to hydroplane during the heaviest downpours.
Localized flooding may also increase as the rain intensifies, especially in areas along small creeks and streams where water levels may quickly rise.
Some locally severe storms may also rumble across the Southeast which could produce flash flooding and gusty winds.
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Melting snow left over from the Blizzard of 2016 may contribute to the flood risk across the mid-Atlantic.
"By the end of the week, there will be very little evidence that a blizzard occurred," AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll said.
"Larger snow piles left behind by plows, however, will take a little longer to completely melt away," he added.

The heavy rain is expected to taper off on Wednesday night as a cold front sweeps across the East, replacing the warm and wet conditions with colder, drier weather.
The rain and mild air may be slower to depart the Southeast than the Northeast, while some rain will linger along the coast of the Carolinas and across the Florida Peninsula throughout Thursday.
While the aforementioned cold front will cause temperatures to fall, it will not signal the start of a major arctic outbreak. Instead, temperatures will fall to levels more typical of early February following the springlike start to the month.
The air will still be cold enough to trigger some lake-effect snow showers downwind of the Great Lakes on Thursday and Friday.
Many people across the eastern U.S. can expect the dry conditions and typical winter chill to last into the first weekend of February.