A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the entire region through Thursday afternoon as the remnants of Ida slides in, bringing pockets of torrential rain overnight and the threat for severe storms which could contain an isolated tornado.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed areas along and south of the Mass Pike under a marginal risk for severe storms while SE MA and the Cape and Islands are under a slight risk (which is for a lack of a better term, “slightly” higher than a marginal risk).
Numerous reports of flash flooding have popped up across portions of Pennsylvania along with a few tornados that spun up in Maryland. A Tornado Watch remains in effect for PA, Maryland and NJ until 10PM tonight.
For us in southern New England, we’ll see pockets of showers through the evening commute, turning heavier with pockets of tropical downpours blossoming around midnight and continuing into early Thursday morning. The bulk of the rain should push out as early as 7am to 8am, however the flood threat could linger into midday.
When we’re talking about several hours of torrential rain, that will no doubt lead to areas of flash flooding. Forecast rainfall totals bring a wide swatch of the area under 3-5″, with higher totals across CT and RI.
Keep this in mind with the flash flood threat: only 6″ of moving water can knock over and carry an adult. Plus, it’s nearly impossible to see flooding at night. If a street is flooded, turn around and seek an alternate route.
Another aspect of the remnants of Ida is the wind. A Wind Advisory has been issued for our coastal communities until 1pm Thursday for gusts up to 40 mph due to the fact that the ground will be saturated and we have fully leafed trees, this could lead to isolated tree damage, plus a few power outages.
Along with the flood threat, there is the severe thunderstorm threat. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out overnight into tomorrow morning. As the warm front lifts north, that will be the battle zone between the winds out of the NE and winds out of the SSE, which could result in a few spin-ups. That threat likely closer to the South Coast, Cape and Islands into early Thursday morning.
Into Thursday afternoon, we could see some sunny breaks as the remnants of Ida exits southern New England. Friday is drier compared to Thursday, however a sprinkle cannot be ruled out. As we head into the holiday weekend, Saturday features mainly sunny skies and highs in the low to mid 70s. Sunday features a few showers, but we’re not tracking a washout while Labor Day Monday is partly cloudy with a spot shower with highs near 80.
