Deadly floodwaters swept across parts of the Northeast Sunday with more rain in the forecast Monday, while more than 42 million Americans faced heat advisories as dangerous weather threatened havoc for much of the nation.
A woman was killed by flooding in New York State. Parts of Pennsylvania were swamped by up to 8 inches of rain. And forecasters warned that residents from North Carolina to New Hampshire can expect heavy rains and potential flooding Monday, with flash flood warnings in parts of New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.
“Rainfall rates could reach 2 inches per hour in some locations as the system slowly moves,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. “Infrastructure in the metro areas may not be able to handle rainfall of this magnitude, and as a result, rising water could quickly inundate some locations.”
A cold front in the Great Plains may bring damaging wind gusts and large hail extending as far north as the Upper Midwest. The central and southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley will also see heavy rains and a chance of flooding.
In a week of world-record-breaking heat, residents in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida can expect oppressive heat.
Woman dead in Hudson Valley, New York
A woman in her 30s was swept away and drowned while trying to evacuate her home in New York’s Hudson Valley. Flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed into the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said. Two other people escaped the home in Highlands, about 40 miles north of New York City.
“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said. “She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” he added, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave type waves.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency Sunday for Orange County. That included the town of Cornwall, near the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, where many roads were flooded and closed off.
‘Catastrophic,’ ‘life-threatening’ flooding possible in Vermont
New York’s Putnam Valley recorded more than 10 inches of rain Sunday. The National Weather Service said part of U.S. Highway 6 near Fort Montgomery, New York, collapsed west of the Palisades Interstate Parkway late Sunday. In Pennsylvania, Chalfont recorded over 8 inches of rain. Several roads were closed and water rescues took place across the region.
According to the National Weather Service, over 10 million Americans were under flood watches or warnings as of Monday morning. As a consolidating frontal system nearing the northern Mid-Atlantic coastline combines with atmospheric moisture, heavy rain is likely to produce the potential for significant flash flooding in the Northeast and New England on Monday.
Residents from New England to the Mid-Atlantic are advised to avoid driving on any flooded roads, as the majority of flash-flood deaths occur in vehicles.
The highest risk of flooding Monday will be in Vermont and the Champlain Valley bordering New York State. The weather service is warning residents of Vermont of “catastrophic flooding” on Monday, adding that “a potentially life-threatening scenario is developing across the region.”
The front is expected to pass by Tuesday when the heaviest of the rain will end.
Scorching heat across southern US
Parts of Texas, Florida, and the Southwest won’t see relief Monday from sweltering temperatures with many areas under heat warnings and heat advisories. High temperatures in the Southwest and High Plains may reach up to and above 110 degrees in the afternoons.
The weather service in Las Vegas said Monday that “once it sets in, the excessive heat looks to last through at least next Monday.”
Similarly, high temperatures and oppressive humidity may allow for heat indices to approach 115 degrees throughout parts of South Texas.
US weather watches and warnings
National weather radar
Contributing: Associated Press
