By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-11 17:17:00 | Updated at 2024-12-22 07:29:26
1 week ago
An urgent weather warning has been issued for eight East Coast states with a bomb cyclone is expected to unleash hurricane conditions in the region.
Meteorologists predict that states from Maine to New York will see the worst impacts, including dangerous flooding and widespread power outages starting Wednesday evening.
The super-charged storm will bring wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, as well as torrential rainfall amplified by an atmospheric river stretching 2,000 miles along the coast.
An atmospheric river is a long and narrow region of the atmosphere that carries warmth and moisture from the tropics toward Earth's poles.
'The impactful nature of the storm in coastal areas of the Northeast will be like a landfilling strong tropical storm or hurricane,' AccuWeather meteorologists stated.
The metro areas of Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Hartford, Connecticut could see significant urban and small stream flooding, according to AccuWeather.
'The risk for significant flooding will be further amplified across the higher elevations of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine where there is a considerable snowpack of several inches on the ground,' AccuWeather meteorologist Jonathan Porter warned.
That is because rapidly melting snow can add one to two inches of water to storm runoff, and rapidly rising water can cause 'life-threatening' flooding, he added.
Five states are bracing for dangerous flooding and power outages as an atmospheric river and developing bomb cyclone hit the East Coast
The National Weather Service (NWS) has also issued a high-wind warning for Long Island, New York and the coast of Connecticut from 12pm to 10pm ET Wednesday, with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph expected.
The agency has also issued this warning to parts of Maine from from 7pm ET Wednesday to 6am ET Thursday, as well as all of eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island from 3opm this afternoon to 1am ET tomorrow.
'Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,' NWS officials stated.
'Remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Watch for falling debris and tree limbs. Use caution if you must drive.'
The early stages of this storm already battered parts of the southeastern US with torrential downpours on Monday and Tuesday, even prompting tornado warnings, according to AccuWeather.
The rain expanded northward into the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and southern New England regions Tuesday night.
The storm, which is currently developing off the East Coast, is expected to reorganize along the upper mid-Atlantic coast Wednesday.
Its central pressure will plunge, potentially falling 24 millibars in a span of 24 hours or less - a form of rapid intensification known as 'bombogenesis.'
This is what creates a 'bomb cyclone.'
Simultaneously, a 2,000-mile-long band of water vapor stretching all the way from the northeastern US to the Caribbean Sea will intensify the storm's rainfall.
The atmospheric river and potential bomb cyclone are expected to dump a total of eight inches of rain on the Northeast
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued high-wind warnings for Long Island, New York, the coast of Connecticut, parts of Maine, eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island
This band of moisture is known as an atmospheric river.
Together, these weather systems are expected to dump a total of eight inches of rain over the Northeast and six inches in the Southeast.
But coastal areas of the Northeast - particularly New England - will face the brunt of the storm's impact as it draws moisture from the Atlantic Ocean near the southeastern US and carries it northward.
Thus, some states in this region are already preparing for very bad weather.
In Maine, some schools delayed openings Tuesday after a few inches of snow accumulated earlier in the day.
The western part of the state is bracing for freezing rain, downpours, unseasonably high temperatures and damaging winds, all expected to hit in the span of a day, said Derek Schroeter, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.
This unique storm event comes just weeks after a similar event rocked the West Coast in November, causing extensive damage in western Washington
A pickup truck was totally crushed by a falling tree in Sudden Valley, as this image shared on Facebook in November shows
'We're looking at the risk of slick travel (Tuesday night) with the freezing rain,' Schroeter said, 'and we are going to be watching for the potential for flash flooding and sharp rises on streams as temperatures rise into the 50s (10-15 Celsius).'
The state of Vermont is under a flood watch from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning.
The state's capital, Montpelier, has told residents to brace for mild flooding in the area and advised elevating items in basements and other low areas, the AP reported.
The city 'will be actively monitoring the river levels as this storm passes through,' officials stated.
This unique storm event comes just weeks after a similar event rocked the West Coast in November.
An atmospheric river and bomb cyclone killed two people and caused widespread power outages, flooding and wind damage throughout the US Northwest.
If the aftermath of that storm is any indication, the East Coast could be in for some devastating impacts this week.
