A developing bomb cyclone, combined with an atmospheric river, is poised to hit the eastern United States.
This rapidly strengthening storm, packed with moisture, will sweep across the eastern US through Wednesday night, bringing flooding, heavy rainfall, damaging winds, and major travel disruptions.
AccuWeather meteorologists caution that the storm will intensify quickly as it moves north from the US toward Canada.
The growing bomb cyclone will bring heavy rain and strong winds from the Appalachians to the Atlantic coast, potentially disrupting travel, causing flooding, and triggering power outages by midweek.
Travelers, whether by land or air, should expect significant delays from Wednesday to early Thursday as the storm moves north from the Gulf of Mexico to Quebec, Canada.
The storm’s central pressure will drop rapidly, creating a powerful vacuum in the atmosphere, which will draw in winds and form a bomb cyclone.
The storm began generating heavy downpours and severe thunderstorms across Louisiana and Georgia on Tuesday morning.
Tornado warnings were issued for some of these storms. The primary threats in the Southeast through Tuesday night include damaging winds and flash urban flooding.
As downpours and thunderstorms spread through the Southeast into Tuesday night, rain will continue to expand.
The storm will move north, soaking the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic, and southern New England. Due to lingering cold air, northern New England will experience a wintry mix.
On Wednesday, the storm will reorganize along the upper mid-Atlantic coast and become a bomb cyclone. This will intensify the rain from the Appalachians to the Atlantic beaches and increase wind speeds along the Atlantic coast through Wednesday night.
Rainfall of 1 to 4 inches is expected, which could cause rivers, lakes, and reservoirs to rise, along with urban flooding. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ predicts up to 6 inches of rainfall in the Southeast and 8 inches in the Northeast.
AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno explained, “Some rain will act like a giant firehose and organize into an intense north-to-south, west-to-east crawling squall with gusty winds.”
A moisture plume, stretching more than 2,000 miles from the northeastern US to the Caribbean, will qualify as an atmospheric river, according to Rayno. “Locally severe thunderstorms may occur Wednesday in the coastal Northeast, with a few tornadoes possible in parts of the mid-Atlantic,” he added.
Rayno warned that cities along the East Coast, including New York City, Boston, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, could see significant urban and small stream flooding. He emphasized that this could not only damage cars but also put passengers in life-threatening situations.
Along with the heavy rain, high wind gusts of 50 to 85 mph are expected to impact areas from eastern North Carolina to southeastern Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
