iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A slow-moving cold front is pushing through the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Saturday morning, bringing rounds of strong thunderstorms to area.
The cold front will slide south on Saturday and as it does so, a new disturbance will develop in the mid-Atlantic and stall over the region through the weekend.
The primary concern is for more heavy rain, which could lead to flash flooding. A new flash flood watch has been issued from Norfolk, Virginia, to Trenton, New Jersey, and includes the metro areas of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C and Baltimore.
Showers and thunderstorms will become widespread from Virginia to New Jersey late Saturday and continue through Sunday. Additionally, a cold front approaching from the west on Sunday night could increase rainfall totals.
Nearly 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected from eastern Virginia to central New Jersey. There could be locally higher amounts of 3 to 4 inches, especially over eastern Maryland. Flash flooding will become a concern with slow-moving storms.
This region of the country has had several rounds of significant weather recently. Besides several rounds of severe weather in mid-May, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore received more than double their usual May rainfall in 2018.
Nearly 8 to 10 inches of rain fell on May 27 just west of Baltimore, which caused catastrophic flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland, and killed one person.
Severe storms over Plains
A strong line of storms developed in the Plains overnight, moving east from Nebraska to Montana. There were 11 tornadoes reported across the Northern Plains, many near Bismarck, North Dakota. Wind gusts of 75 mph were also reported in both Dakotas and an 80-mph wind gust was recorded in Nebraska.
Over 200 reports of severe weather were made on Friday and early Saturday through parts of the Northern Plains and the southeast U.S.
Separate clusters of thunderstorms brought strong winds and hail to parts of Texas — including a report of baseball-size hail near Lubbock.
And in the Southeast, wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were reported with strong thunderstorms from northern Alabama to the Carolinas.
A line of strong storms is moving through parts of the central Plains on Saturday morning, hitting Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Omaha, Nebraska. This line will diminish in intensity this morning. Severe thunderstorm activity will fire up again later this afternoon and into the evening hours. Severe thunderstorms are expected from northeast Texas to western Illinois.
A slight risk for severe weather exists for many cities in the central U.S., including Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Illinois; St. Louis and Kansas City. The main threat will be damaging winds and large hail. Brief tornadoes are possible, but do not appear to be a widespread threat Saturday.
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