Millions of people are under a Flood Watch as the east coast from North Carolina to northern New England will be drenched just as the work week begins.
A slowly advancing cold front will arrive on Sunday evening with heavier thunderstorms and heavy rain that may continue for the next few days, The National Weather Service said.
The weather is already affecting flights – with a total of 1,355 flights within or from the US canceled as of Sunday afternoon.
According to FlightAware, 200 flights have been canceled from New York’s LaGuardia, 110 flights from John F. Kennedy and 147 flights from Newark have been cancelled.
It comes just two days after storms ravaged the East Coast, causing mudslides in Vermont and flooding in Northern Virginia, where several motorists had to be rescued after driving through flooded streets in Pentagon City.
Now more severe weather is coming and about 80 million people from Washington to Portland, Maine, can get a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. Bloomberg reported citing forecasts.
Millions of people are under a Flood Watch as the East Coast from North Carolina to New England will see drench rain just as the work week begins. Pictured: The second set of storms caused mudslides in Vermont, forcing police to close at least one major road
Most major cities along Interstate 95 are covered by the Flood Watch, including Washington, Philadelphia, and New York.
There are several other places on the East Coast that could be hit hard by the storms and experience significant flooding.
Some of these areas include Hatteras in North Carolina, Norfolk in Virginia, Binghamton in New York, as well as both Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut.
According to Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, New York, because the storm is moving so slowly, buildup could build up in the hardest hit areas. He added that rain could fall at a rate of two inches per hour in New York until early Monday.
New Yorkers should be prepared for flooding, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
“During the weekend, parts of the state remain at risk of flooding from storms that bring heavy rains, especially in those areas that have already been hit hard by rain and flooding in recent days.”
But severe weather is expected all along the east coast, much of which is still soaked from the latest storms.
“We’re going to look at very heavy rainfall, including the I-95 corridor,” said Andrew Orrison, a forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. “In general, the region has been wet here, so we’re looking at significant effects.”
Water rescues were needed in Virginia after drivers ventured into high water in Pentagon City
Last week there were multiple water rescues in Northern Virginia after drivers ventured into high water that had taken the streets of Pentagon City.
At least three vehicles became stuck in high tide along S. Joyce Street between Army Navy Drive and Columbia Pike, with several people stranded – including an elderly person with a disability, either in their vehicles or on the median.
A report suggested that the water was so high that at least one of the vehicles floated. Everyone was pulled from the water and no injuries were reported.
And in Vermont, mudslides were reported in the central part of the state, forcing police to close at least one major road in Killington.
Nearly 20 feet of debris from a mudslide washed down U.S. Route 4, the primary east-west highway through the region, on Friday afternoon, WCVB reported.
Killington jury member Jim Haff compared the flood to Irene, the tropical storm that caused flooding in Vermont, Massachusetts and other parts of New England in 2011.
Nearly 20 feet of debris from a mudslide washed over U.S. Route 4 on Friday
It has been reported that about 1 to 2 inches of rain will fall in the region through Tuesday. But the highest totals are expected in the Northeast and New England.
Farther north, New York’s Hudson Valley and Albany, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire can get 2 to 3 inches of rain. And some areas may see rainfall totals of between 3 and 5 inches.
Meanwhile, states in the South, including Florida and Texas, continue to sizzle in heat with peaks in the mid-90s, which is close to record high temperatures for the Florida peninsula.
In South Florida, these hot temperatures combined with high humidity will lead to heat indices in the 105-110 degree range, according to the NWS.