Northeast under flood watch while South braces for severe thunderstorms

(NEW YORK) — Heavy rainfall is in the forecast for the Northeast, while severe thunderstorms could bring tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds to the South.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch from New Jersey to Massachusetts for Wednesday afternoon into Thursday, warning that heavy rain could cause flash flooding. Major cities under the flood watch include New York City, Hartford, Providence and Boston. Localized rainfall amounts of 3 inches is possible within this short period of time, which would trigger urban flash flooding.

The rain is expected to begin early Wednesday afternoon and continue into the evening for most of the Northeast. Then the rain is forecast to linger over New England into Thursday afternoon.

Friday is expected to bring a respite from the rainfall before more heavy downpours come over the weekend with yet another storm.

The rain is forecast to begin Saturday evening for the Interstate 95 travel corridor and continue into Sunday morning.

Snow is expected to fall over the mountains of upstate New York and northern New England from Saturday night into Sunday, with more than a foot possible locally. There could be additional flooding on Saturday night due to a very saturated ground.

There is also a threat for flash flooding across the South, from the Carolinas to Georgia. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands.

Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are forecast to begin in parts of Texas on Thursday morning before moving into the Dallas metropolitan area. More severe weather is expected that night in areas of Texas and Oklahoma, including the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex. The biggest threat there will be large hail, but the possibility of an isolated tornado or damaging winds can’t be ruled out.

The severe weather is expected to move further east on Friday into eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The biggest threat there will include tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and flash flooding.

On Tuesday, thunderstorms swept across the South and even the Midwest, with two landspout tornadoes reported in Texas and Ohio. The storms also brought heavy rain to Atlanta on Wednesday morning, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning there.

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