A strong cold front is moving on Monday across the eastern half of the United States, bringing dangerously strong winds to millions.
The cold front is bringing heavy rain on Monday from the Deep South to New England, with potential for flooding. The rain will end in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast at dusk, but strong winds will follow.
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston can see winds of up to 30 to 40 mph on Monday night, with gusts possibly reaching 50 mph. This is strong enough to cause power outages.
Wind conditions will start to strengthen in the interior parts of the Northeast in the early afternoon of Monday. Around 4 pm Eastern time, strong winds will blow into major cities in the Northeast. Then, the winds should slowly decrease during the night.
“Due to melting snow and recent rains, some tree root systems may be somewhat compromised, potentially leading to some uprooted trees,” said New York City’s National Weather Service office, which had 26 inches of snow. in February, leaving the soil very moist.
“A combination of abundant snowfall and increased rainfall along the East Coast has increased soil moisture, which will make falling trees a greater threat,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.
The front will also bring freezing temperatures to the region on Monday night. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will bring wind chill values to as low as 20 to 30 degrees below zero in much of New England. This can cause cold burns in just 30 minutes.
Flooding is possible across the Southeast
This same system brought heavy rains to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys over the weekend. “Widespread 2 to 6 inches dropped from Texas to West Virginia,” said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
More than 5 million people are still under flood warning in these areas, as rivers continue to rise above the flood stage.
“In the southeast, mid-Atlantic and lower Mississippi River valley, there are more than 150 meters of rivers above the flood stage. That number is expected to reach 200 in the next few days,” said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
As this system meanders slowly south, places like Jackson, Mississippi, can receive 10 centimeters of rain until Wednesday. More generalized totals will vary from 2 to 4 inches.
And the wind threat also remains in the South, as these rains advance, with a 70 km / h gust already registered at Birmingham’s main airport, Alabama.
The South is expected to start drying up in the second half of the week.