New York City’s apocalyptic weather isn’t over.
After last week’s heat wave, smokey skies and storms, New Yorkers are potentially in for more flash flooding, high winds and even perhaps a twister on Tuesday. Two storms are in the forecast beginning around noon Tuesday and lasting till around 10 p.m. The stormy clouds do have a silver lining: the city will get some relief from the heat this week.
“Things go downhill pretty quickly tomorrow [Tuesday],” said Bill Goodman, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “We have a frontal system approaching that's going to bring showers and thunderstorms — could be a repeat of what we saw on Saturday with the potential for some very heavy rainfall, maybe some severe weather.”
The first round of storms will begin midday with heavy rainfall and wind gusts that could reach 40 miles per hour. The second round could come in the early evening. The city could get a couple of inches of rain or more between the two episodes of extreme weather.
There’s a possibility of hail and a small chance of a tornado in the city, according to Goodman, who added that a twister is unlikely.
“Right now the risk of tornado looks very small, but it's not zero,” Goodman said. “On the scale of things, the potential for flash flooding is probably highest on the list, then would come damaging winds.”
Last week, New York experienced its second worst smoke event on record from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality reached unhealthy levels last week, peaking on Thursday night. As long as the forest fires continue burning north of the border, city officials said the smoke could return depending on wind patterns.
On Saturday, heavy thunderstorms flooded parts of the city. Central Park recorded 1.62 inches of rain, according to the weather service. Tuesday’s weather could look a lot like the torrential storms this past Saturday.
“Keep an eye to the sky, and listen to news media for forecasts and warnings and take action if severe weather threatens,” Goodman said.
Wednesday’s forecast also shows a roughly 50% chance of more rain and thunderstorms.
The forecast for the rest of the week is fair with temperatures in the 70s to the mid 80s.
