Chilly winds to follow storms, flooding rain in eastern US
Gusty winds will continue in much of the eastern half of the United States in the wake of a powerful storm that brought flooding and tornadoes to the Southern states and renewed flooding in the Midwest and Northeast. AccuWeather meteorologists say that the wind can be strong enough to damage trees, trigger sporadic power outages and lead to travel delays in some situations on Saturday.
Showers and locally gusty thundershowers will persist Saturday as the storm itself lifts northward into Canada.
The winds will be generated by the difference in pressure between the intense storm and its low pressure traveling across the Great Lakes region and high pressure extending from the central Rockies to the Gulf Coast. The air will race to flow from high to low, much like a giant vacuum.
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This image shows the strength (mph) and direction of winds as of mid-afternoon on Friday, Apr. 12, 2024. The storm center can be seen just north of the Great Lakes (upper left of center). (AccuWeather) |
"The combination of strong winds and saturated ground from heavy rain on Thursday could bring an increased risk of downed trees and power lines, especially across parts of western Pennsylvania and West Virginia," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said.
The top-heavy and waterlogged trees will bob around in the soggy soil as winds rip through the region. The storm dropped a general 1-3 inches of rain with locally higher amounts from Indiana to Ohio, Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia into Friday morning. The most recent deluge has small streams and rivers surging out of their banks to end the week.
In some locations, such as along the west-facing shorelines of the Great Lakes, coastal Maine and the higher terrain of the Appalachians, gusts ranging from 50-60 mph presented the dual risks of knocking over trees and causing high-profile vehicle roll-overs in high crosswind situations.
As winds blow across the Great Lakes and blast onshore in Maine, overspray and flooding are likely along the shoreline. Gusting winds blowing across the Chesapeake and Delaware bays may lead to flooding along the eastern shore of Maryland and the bayside areas of southern New Jersey.
Another factor is that the gusty winds will make it feel noticeably cooler in the Southeast and add a considerable chill to the air in the Midwest and Northeast into the start of the weekend. It will feel 30-50 degrees cooler compared to the peak of the warmth at midweek. RealFeel® Temperatures may dip as much as 15-20 degrees lower than the actual temperature, especially in the evening and overnight hours and where the sky remains cloudy during the day.
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On Saturday morning, when the core of the chill will have settled over much of the East, widespread RealFeel® Temperatures will be in the 30s, with a pocket around the Great Lakes and central Appalachians where RealFeel® Temperatures will be in the 20s.
In parts of the interior Northeast, it may turn cold fast enough to catch up with the backside of the storm's moisture. This could lead to accumulating snow showers or mixed rain and wet snow in the higher elevations in western and northern New York, northern Pennsylvania and West Virginia into Saturday morning.
Enough of a breeze may linger at night in the Northeast to prevent a frost or freeze.
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Milder conditions are in store for the Northeast, and warmer conditions will build in parts of the Southeast and Midwest, on Sunday. However, a sneaky, fast-moving storm will roll from the Great Lakes to the interior Northeast on Sunday. Where clouds and showers take up a significant part of the day, the warmup will be delayed.
That same storm system will set off severe thunderstorms across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and southern New York on Sunday afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, Hawaii was getting blasted with torrential rain that triggered flash flooding at the end of the week.
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