Heat Expected to Ease Out East as Storms Roll Through

Posted: July 25, 2022 12:08 pm

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Record Heat Made for a Hot and Steamy Weekend on the East Coast

While the Northeast will finally start to see some relief from the heat on Monday and Tuesday, this relief will also bring with it an increased threat of thunderstorms and rain. Millions of Americans will be in the potential impact zone of these storms, expanding from Kentucky and Tennessee to the Atlantic coastline.

Cold Front to Bring Cooler Temperatures Out East

The cold front that is bringing the cooler temperatures will also deliver a pattern of unsettled weather. Severe storms are in the forecast up and down the busy Interstate 95 corridor, potentially complicating travel for the region in the coming days. These storms will carry the risks of heavy rain, damaging winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes.

Many in the interior Northeast woke up to strong storms on Monday morning. The northwestern corner of Pennsylvania had to deal with tornado warnings complicating the start to the work week. The rest of the day will bring the threat of storms in an area expanding from Virginia through Maine, affecting over 52 million people in the path.

Cities that may be in the line of fire for Monday’s storms include Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston. Be sure to check the hourly forecast if you have outdoor plans. Forecasters are predicting the storms will gain in intensity throughout the day, just as they are approaching the major populated cities in this corridor.

The strong jet stream in place will pair with the warm and moist air to increase the odds that you will see a severe storm if you live within this area. The commute home may get messy because of the timing of these storms

Storms in the Mid-Atlantic

The mid-Atlantic may also not be spared. More storms are forecast to form later in the day in Virginia and through the Interstate 81 corridor. While the storms in this region may not be as widespread as the activity to the north, forecasters are warning that these storms could gain in intensity quickly. The primary threat of the storms in the mid-Atlantic will be heavy rain that could trigger flooding.

The front will continue to track toward the southeast in the overnight hours on Monday and into Tuesday. This movement will leave behind calmer weather in the Northeast. However, the threat of storms will remain in an area stretching from southern Illinois down through much of Tennessee and over to the coastal areas of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Tuesday’s line of storms is not expected to be as widespread as Monday’s threat. However, these cells could still produce damaging winds and heavy rain. Because the front is predicted to slow down and potentially stall out, the storms could unleash heavy rain that causes flash flooding.

Storms and Record Heat Wreak Havoc Over the Weekend

It was a stormy weekend for much of the Upper Midwest and the Northeast. The Chicago area bore the brunt of Saturday’s storms with the severe weather moving in right as the sun was coming up. Many people woke up to tornado warnings to start the weekend as the storms tore through.

Sunday also brought severe storms to a large swath of land expanding from northeastern Ohio to Massachusetts. According to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), there were over 150 strong wind reports on that day alone. There were over 77,000 customers still without power on Monday as a result of the storms.

The good news on the weather front is that Monday looks to be the last of the heat that has gripped the Northeast for the past week. Washington, D.C. hit 94 degrees on Sunday, good enough for the seventh consecutive day of readings at or above 90 degrees. The conditions felt even more miserable thanks to the high humidity levels around the nation’s capital.

Philadelphia stopped just short of the century mark with a recorded high of 99 degrees on Sunday. This reading is 10 degrees above average for this time of the year. It was also a scorcher in and around New York City. Temperatures hovered in the mid-90s in Central Park with a high of 102 degrees recorded in nearby Newark, New Jersey. This temperature smashed the record for the day in history by three degrees.

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