Rounds of severe storms to charge through Northeast

Rounds of dangerous weather are headed for the Northeast this week as conditions cool, humidity drops and summer thunderstorms pack a stronger punch than usual.

"A stalled boundary and a nearby storm track will set the stage for an active next few days across the Northeast this week," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.

A stalled boundary is a stationary front, similar to a cold front or warm front, but it is typically non-moving or moving very slowly.

Storms from this front can stretch from eastern Michigan to the Atlantic coast through Tuesday evening. According to Benz, the storms will sweep east across the Northeast, from western New York state to New England.

Humidity will dominate the region before the storms arrive, revealing a large amount of moisture in the air. The storms can be heavy, resulting in flash flooding and ponding on roadways.

"Damaging winds and flooding downpours will be the main concern with storms into Tuesday night thanks to strong winds aloft and an abundance of low-level moisture," said Benz.

Cities to be impacted include Syracuse, New York; Boston; and Hartford, Connecticut; with winds gusting to an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph.

Another front will sweep across the region Wednesday and Thursday, producing a second round of storms.

"Blocking will increase over Greenland and will send a strong cold front late Wednesday to the Great Lakes and across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic later Thursday," said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Atmospheric blocking is usually when high pressure causes weather patterns to get stuck in place and the weather can stay the same for a long time.

"The air mass behind this front will be much cooler with a big drop in humidity, especially for the Northeast," said Pastelok.

Benz added that temperatures will likely be highest on Tuesday with temperatures trending lower as the week progresses.

New York City will drop from a forecast approaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday to several degrees below normal with a high in the upper 70s on Thursday. Typically, the Big Apple has high temperatures in the middle 80s during late July.

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"The nights will be quite cool for this time of year," said Pastelok.

Lows on Wednesday and Thursday night will be in the upper 60s in the City That Never Sleeps, then dive into the lower 60s Friday night. Nighttime temperatures can also fall into the lower 60s in Boston Wednesday night, which is multiple degrees below normal.

This can lead to residents turning off air conditioners and, instead, opening their windows at night.

"Thunderstorms with the cool front can be severe with damaging winds and hail," Pastelok said.

However, heavy rain may be the biggest impact from this second round, from New England to the mid-Atlantic.

Residents are urged to never drive through floodwaters, which could occur especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas, and be aware of changing visibilities on roadways. Areas of the Northeast that experienced a very wet month of July will be at the greatest risk of experiencing flash flooding issues.

During next week, there is the potential for an atmospheric traffic jam along the Atlantic coast.

"The combination of a stalled front and a series of storms moving along it could set up repeating rounds of rain from the Atlantic coast beaches to the Interstate 95 corridor and perhaps even farther west," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

Such a pattern may not only spoil vacations at the beaches but could lead to renewed flash flooding for some and perhaps needed rainfall for other locations.

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