The Northeast is gearing up for warm temperatures that will allow millions to step outdoors and enjoy nature, but the forecast will take a turn later this week when a storm system moves into the region and again brings the threat of flooding rain.
The system is the same one that’s bringing the threat of severe weather to the South, as well as the Gulf Coast and Southeast and then eventually into the mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley.
Millions of people from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will feel temperatures get into the 70s on Tuesday, including cities like New York City, Washington and Pittsburgh, which are forecast to have high temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s.
It’s also expected to get into the lower to mid-70s in places like Detroit and Buffalo, New York.
It’s a different story in New England, however.
Boston is only expected to get into the mid-50s, while it will be a bit warmer in Burlington, Vermont, with a forecast high temperature in the lower to mid-60s.
The threat of flooding rain will return to the region starting on Wednesday, with the system first targeting cities and towns from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic, including communities in the Appalachian Mountains that are still recovering from last week’s deadly flooding.
The system will then impact millions along the East Coast from Virginia to Maine starting Thursday and lasting into the first part of the weekend.
A few inches of rain is expected to fall across the region, with most areas receiving 1-2 inches through Saturday.
Some parts of northern New England could see locally higher amounts of 2-3 inches.
And while the rainfall totals aren’t expected to amount to much, the ground is already heavily saturated due to several storm systems that have been pounding the region recently with a lot of precipitation.
Because of the threat of additional rain, there is a threat of flash flooding on Thursday along the East Coast from the Southeast through the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast.
The risk grows farther inland, with NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) posting a Level 2 out of 4 risk of excessive rainfall across portions of the Appalachians to the west of the Interstate 95 corridor from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.