STATE COLLEGE – AccuWeather.com reports there is the potential for violent thunderstorms, including a few tornadoes, Friday from portions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey to northern Georgia and South Carolina. The storms could impact tens of millions of people in the Interstate 81 and I-95 corridors.
As a storm system responsible for nearly 500 reported incidents of severe weather over the Plains Tuesday and Wednesday moves along it will target areas from Texas to Ohio into Thursday night.
Next on the severe weather outbreak’s itinerary will be some heavily populated areas of the East during Friday.
Cities from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Trenton southward to Atlanta, Augusta and Columbia will be in the zone of potentially damaging and dangerous storms Friday.
The greatest threats from the thunderstorms will be wind gusts to 60 mph, golf ball-sized hail, flash flooding and frequent lightning strikes.
There is also the potential for a few tornadoes being produce by the strongest storms Friday afternoon into the early evening.
According to Severe Weather Expert Henry Margusity, “The storm system will change its orientation so that violent thunderstorms, including tornadoes, will be possible in areas that tend to see much less severe weather, when compared to the Plains and Midwest.”
Margusity feels that the storm system will have some extra time to pull humid (high dew point) air northward along the coastal Plain of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
The extra moisture is a component for the most violent storms, including tornadoes.
“The system with its strong wind shear and cold air aloft is hitting the East during its prime season for severe weather,” Margusity added.
The problems may extend well beyond highway and airport travel delays and foiled Friday evening plans. Some communities could be in the dark for hours in the wake of the storm and a small number of trees could be downed, which could block streets or push into homes.
Large hail could bring damaged vehicles and broken windows.
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com