CHARLESTON, W.V. – The FOX Forecast Center is monitoring for the possibility of severe weather developing east of the Ohio River, along the Appalachian Mountains on Thursday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted an area from south of Pittsburgh to western Virginia for seeing the highest risk of thunderstorms, which could include hail, damaging winds and an isolated tornado.
Storms are expected to redevelop ahead of a cold front which has already pushed into western parts of the Ohio Valley.
Most communities in West Virginia, including Charleston, are under the Tornado Watch through sunset. The intimal watch box included 2.5 million people in five states.
The stormy weather is courtesy of the same system that produced dozens of reports of damage and significant flooding along the Gulf Coast on Wednesday. National Weather Service meteorologists said a tornado that struck Lake Charles, Louisiana, was an EF-2, and a Flash Flood Emergency was issued for the New Orleans metro.
TORNADO DAMAGE REPORTED NEAR ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, AS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT SHIFTS EAST
In addition to the severe weather threat, any thunderstorm will be capable of producing dangerous lightning and heavy rainfall.
Several major waterways in the region, including the Ohio River, remain elevated after inundating some towns in Appalachia last week, so any additional rainfall could aggravate cleanup efforts.
The entire cold front is not expected to be off the East Coast before Saturday, meaning communities in the Northeast could see scattered rain showers for several days.
Computer forecast models show rainfall accumulations will be between 1 and 3 inches for many, which could aggravate rivers and streams that are already at full bank plus rapid snow melt from the heavy snows in northern Maine last week.
As a result, Flood Watches have been posted for parts of the region.