Overview
- Federal forecast centers have the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and parts of the South in Marginal-to-Slight risk levels for severe storms and flash flooding as a multi-day pattern continues into the weekend, with the most organized rounds centered on Thursday.
- Primary hazards include damaging straight-line winds, frequent lightning, small hail, and intense rainfall that can produce flash flooding and isolated brief tornadoes in stronger cells.
- Cities and counties are preparing for impacts: New York City activated its Flash Flood Plan, issued a Travel Advisory and a Flood Watch, and local broadcasters declared Impact or First Warning days to warn residents of travel disruption and power outages.
- Rainfall of 1–3 inches is expected in many places with isolated pockets of 3–5 inches where storms train over the same area and localized rates may exceed 1 inch per hour, raising urban and poor-drainage flood risk and creating hazardous driving conditions.
- Forecasters are also monitoring Invest 96L in the eastern Atlantic but do not expect an immediate U.S. threat this week while the U.K. faces its own yellow thunderstorm warnings as part of a wetter pattern linked to a strong El Niño.