The Northeast remains under the threat of severe weather today, with more than 100 million Americans at risk of severe storms with damaging wind gusts and hail through this evening.
It comes on the heels of severe weather events that were fueled by near-record heat, with temperatures reaching the mid-90s from the Carolinas to New York City.
Storms knocked out power to 61,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania, across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and severe weather threatened more than 70 million people from Kentucky to Vermont on Friday afternoon.
After a busy week of storms and a brief lull on Saturday, the severe weather threat isn’t over yet.
Another disturbance is moving into the Northeast to round out the weekend, bringing a Level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms.
The threat area stretches from Atlanta, Georgia, through Washington, DC into Philadelphia, New York City and into Boston and Upstate New York, including over 100 million people.
Storms are expected to fire off this afternoon, and the primary threat will be damaging wind gusts of 50 to 65 mph within organized lines or clusters, though a few tornadoes remain possible.
The two primary areas for storm development will be the Northern Mid-Atlantic—east of the Allegheny Mountains—and the upper Ohio Valley into the lower Great Lakes.
The FOX Forecast Center said that there is enough moisture and instability in the atmosphere that’s pulling into parts of the Interstate 95 corridor to support the development of storms.
For severe storms to form, heat and humidity needs to build up ahead of an approaching cold front.
However, if earlier showers pass through the area first, their leftover cool air could stabilize the atmosphere and act like a wet blanket, weakening the afternoon severe threat.
If the skies stay clear and allow the air to become hot and humid, fast-moving winds higher up in the atmosphere will easily trigger and organize severe storms.