Surges of severe rainfall pelted the New England area Monday with some particularly rare flooding in Vermont that reportedly killed a woman Sunday night.
The slow-moving storm system containing severe weather alongside an unusual atmospheric moisture is expected to leave the region on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Before the storm heads to the northeast, more intense rainfall is expected to hit parts of northern Vermont to northeast New York, the NWS reports, bringing a risk of either flash flooding or main-stem river flooding early in the day.
AccuWeather meteorologist Grady Gilman said most heavy rain in New England will clear by noon.
For the first time since 2011, the NWS set Vermont under High Risk (level 4/4) for Excessive Rainfall on Monday with the possibility of catastrophic flooding. Gilman said central and northern Vermont experienced historic rainfall with reports of droplets in the six to eight range with an upwards of nine to ten inches. He said in 2011, that weather was due to a tropical storm.
“This rainfall ongoing up there is actually not associated with any tropical system. But we do have the same type of tropical moisture up in there,” Gilman told USA TODAY.
Severe storms expected to leave central US toward Midwest
Thunderstorms are expected to cluster in the central U.S. as one frontal boundary stretches from the Southeast to the southern Plains while another spreads from the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest, the NWS reports.
Damaging wind gusts and large hail will likely join the storms across the central Plains. Flash flooding chances could also accompany storms in parts of Oklahoma and north-central Texas.
The NWS predicts that by Tuesday and Wednesday the severe weather and flash flooding risks will shift to the central Plains and Midwest.
“We’re primarily looking at flooding downpours and a very large damaging angle. But we cannot rule out an isolated tornado or two as well,” Gilman said.
Gilman said South Dakota and southern Minnesota are among the states experiencing severe weather, with eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa among areas with highest risk.
Parts of Texas and Florida to keep facing oppressive July heat
Oppressive humidity and dangerous heat indices are expected across parts of Texas, the immediate Gulf Coast and the Florida Peninsula, according to the NWS.
With heat indices up to 110 degrees, advisories remain in effect for parts of Texas and southern Florida. July heat is set to continue over the next several days throughout the Southern Tier States, the NWS reports.
The Southwest and southern High Plains will face triple digit highs, with the central/southern Plains in the upper 90s and low 100s on Wednesday. The Dessert Southwest could expect temperatures in the 110s throughout the Dessert Southwest.
