Severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, hail and possibly a derecho windstorm are expected to sweep out of the U.S. Midwest today and into New York City and the Northeast, forecasters said. “The risk for widespread damaging winds will increase from midday to mid-afternoon from Indiana and Ohio across Pennsylvania, southeast New York, into western Massachusetts and Connecticut,” the U.S. Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said in a severe weather outlook.
A derecho may form as the systems move east. One of the fast-moving systems struck the mid-Atlantic last month, leaving 4.3 million people without power from New Jersey to North Carolina as it unleashed winds of as much as 91 miles (146 kilometers) per hour, as powerful as a Category 1 hurricane. Twenty-four deaths were linked to the storm and its aftermath, according to the Associated Press.
The threat prompted New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to cancel events in Rochester and Syracuse and to go to New York City to help manage storm preparations, according to a statement from his office. The governor activated the State Emergency Operations Center and planned meetings with utility officials.
A derecho is defined as an event that has wind gusts of at least 58 mph and leaves a swath of damage for a minimum of 240 miles, according to the storm center’s website.
Earlier Storms
A less-intense wave of thunderstorms earlier today snarled air traffic along the East Coast from New York to Philadelphia. Delays of more than three hours were reported at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and in Newark, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
As those thunderstorms move out, the day will turn hot and humid, said Paul Walker, expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. Today’s high temperature may reach 90 in Central Park, according to the National Weather Service.
Then a cold front, which will spawn the severe storms, will move east.
“It will be in western Pennsylvania early in the afternoon to 3 o’clock, working its way east, not getting to the big cities until late this afternoon,” Walker said by telephone. “There is a possibility of some isolated tornadoes. The big thing will be wind damage and the heavy downpours with them.”
The storms have the potential to knock down power lines and transformers, causing widespread power outages, according to Consolidated Edison Inc., which provides electricity to most of New York City and Westchester County.
