AccuWeather meteorologists said Saturday that an outburst of severe weather spanning more than a dozen states across the Eastern United States could hit early in the new week.
The storms, they warned, throw a wrench in travel and outdoor plans following a relatively tranquil beginning of the weekend.
The Northeast was experiencing an early taste of September on Saturday as humidity levels dropped behind heavy thunderstorms at the end of the week. Some of the storms that erupted across the interior on Friday packed flooding downpours, hail and damaging winds.
Stormy weather can return as early as Sunday afternoon for part of the region, including eastern Ohio, West Virginia, western and central Pennsylvania and extending southward toward Atlanta.
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A few of these storms to close out the weekend can pulse to severe levels, but AccuWeather forecasters say the highest risk for damaging storms will come at the beginning of the traditional workweek.
The atmospheric setup will be ripe for a rather broad zone to have the potential for severe thunderstorms on Monday as an intensifying weather system shifts from the Midwest into the Northeast, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist La Troy Thornton.
"Robust southwesterly winds will transport abundant moisture up the Eastern Seaboard, providing the potential for a washout in some interior sections of the Northeast as thunderstorms produce impressive downpours," Thornton said.
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Motorists with travel plans along stretches of interstates 40, 64, 70, 75, 80 and 81 should be prepared to face slower travel at times as downpours reduce visibility and create a heightened risk of hydroplaning. Downed tree branches and limbs may block some secondary roadways.
"In terms of severe weather, all hazards will be in play as the atmosphere should have no shortage of available energy to work with," Thornton said. Hazards range from damaging wind gusts of 60-70 mph, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 80 mph, along with the potential for hail and isolated tornadoes.
Some of the cities that could be jolted by thunderstorms at severe levels include Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. Charleston, W.V., Knoxville, Tenn., Huntsville, Ala., and perhaps into the northern suburbs of Atlanta.
Although the risk of severe weather will be less in New England, the risk of flash flooding could return to hard-hit portions of the area as a batch of rain and thunderstorms moves through during the early part of the week.
Thornton noted that even areas that have not been hit by heavy rain recently could experience localized flooding, especially where thunderstorms repeat over the same location.
"The pattern next week will feature frequent showers and thunderstorms, typically every other day or so, across much of the East," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "Even though it may not rain as much or as often as it did in July, conditions may again pose daily challenges for outdoor plans and travel."
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Although the week will not be a complete washout, forecasters say the rounds of clouds, showers and thunderstorms will help to keep temperatures in check.
So far in August, temperatures have been 3-6 degrees Fahrenheit below the historical average from Washington, D.C., to Boston. AccuWeather's Long-Range team says that some of the warmest days of the summer may be yet to come, however.
"Heat can build during the middle to late part of August in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic as many kids return to school. This can be accompanied by high humidity and a risk for thunderstorm activity," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
