Storms to bring tornado, damaging wind threat to eastern US Wednesday

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

February 27,2017, 2:57:54PM,EST

 

 

A new surge of warm air will trigger another round of severe thunderstorms in parts of the eastern United States Wednesday and Wednesday night.
The eastern storms are likely to be a continuation of an anticipated severe weather outbreak over parts of the Midwest on Tuesday night.
"The storms can be strong enough to cause a few tornadoes, powerful wind gusts and flash flooding in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys Wednesday," according to AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Alex Avalos.

Strong winds aloft will allow the storms to pack a powerful punch. As the storms reach high into the atmosphere, the strong winds from aloft will be carried down to the surface.
Major cities at greatest risk for a dangerous and damaging storms on Wednesday include Cincinnati; Lexington, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Huntsville, Alabama; Tupelo, Mississippi; and Monroe, Louisiana.
During Wednesday night, the storms will be past their peak as they move eastward.
"However, a few locations can be hit with damaging winds and urban flooding in parts of the central Appalachians and Interstate 95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic during Wednesday evening," Avalos said. "A couple of the strongest storms can still produce a tornado even into Wednesday evening."
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Travel disruptions, sporadic power outages and incidents of property damage are possible from parts of eastern Ohio and West Virginia to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey Wednesday evening.

Airline delays could mount from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia as the storms approach and move through Wednesday evening. There is a chance that heavy, gusty thunderstorms reach farther north and impact New York City and southern New England Wednesday night.
A few downpours with locally gusty winds can also extend from parts of the Carolinas to the Florida Panhandle Wednesday night. The major airport hubs of Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, could be affected for a brief time.

Conditions will improve from west to east as the storm system moves away and colder air sweeps away the warmth Wednesday night and Thursday.