Soaking storms to elevate flash flood threat in northeastern US this weekend
By Renee Duff for AccuWeather.com
Rounds of drenching showers and thunderstorms will heighten the risk of flash flooding across the northeastern United States through the final weekend of July.
For some locations, this will mark the third or fourth consecutive day of rain.
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Downpours prompted flash flooding and a few water rescues in York County, Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia on Thursday, according to local officials.
Additional rounds of rain this weekend will keep the flash flood risk elevated across the region.
After a brief reprieve from the heaviest downpours on Friday, rain will advance into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday and Sunday.
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"A stalled front will focus an increase in shower and storm coverage from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England throughout the weekend," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kevin Gilmore explained.
Areas most likely to experience one or more rounds of soaking rain and storms this weekend include portions of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
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General rainfall amounts of a half to 2 inches are forecast across the region, which could generate flash flooding in some communities, Gilmore said. Locally higher rainfall amounts are possible.
In addition to being drenching, a few storms in the mid-Atlantic could be locally strong and gusty and could potentially cause sporadic tree and power line damage.
Torrential downpours could reduce visibility and slow travel along portions of interstates 70, 76, 83 and 95 for a time.
In addition to causing disruptions to travel, rain could threaten to delay part of the New York Mets series versus the Colorado Rockies as well as the Pennsylvania 400 this weekend.
Only a few communities will be hit by the heaviest rainfall. Far more areas will endure periods of gentle, nuisance rain throughout the weekend.
"Because of the random nature of the storms, some locations could still get missed by the big rain," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Far northern New England may stay dry for most, if not all, of the weekend.
Locally drenching showers and storms are forecast to continue across the Northeast into Monday, but the bulk of the heavy rain will have moved offshore by the start of the workweek.
Much drier weather is in store on Tuesday, when storm activity will become much spottier and mainly confined to New England and part of the Northeast coast.
