A strong cold front will sweep through the eastern half of the United States on Monday, bringing dangerously strong winds for millions.
The cold front will bring drenched rain from the Deep South to New England on Monday, with the possibility of flooding downpours. The rain will end by evening in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, but strong winds will follow.
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston were all able to see wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph Monday night, with gusts possible up to 80 mph. That’s strong enough to cause power outages.
The windy conditions will start to strengthen in the inner parts of the Northeast early Monday afternoon. By 4 p.m. ET, strong winds will hit the major cities in the Northeast. Then the wind should slowly decrease during the night hours.
“Due to snow melt and recent rainfall, some tree root systems may have been slightly degraded, potentially leading to uprooted trees,” said the National Weather Service office for New York City, which had 26 inches of snow in February, leaving the ground very moist.
“A combination of abundant snowfall and increased rainfall along the east coast has resulted in increased soil moisture, making falling trees a greater threat,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.
The front will also bring freezing temperatures to the region on Monday evening. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will drive wind chill readings as low as 20 to 30 degrees below zero for much of New England. This can cause frostbite within 30 minutes.
Floods are possible in the southeast
This same system brought heavy rain to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys over the weekend. “Widespread totals of 2 to 6 inches fell from Texas to West Virginia,” said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
More than 5 million people are still under flood warnings in these areas as rivers continue to rise above flood levels.
“In the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and lower Mississippi River Valley, there are more than 150 river meters above the inundation stage. That number is expected to exceed 200 in the next few days,” said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
As this system slowly winds south, places like Jackson, Mississippi, can pick up 10 inches of rain until Wednesday. More general totals will range from 2 to 4 inches.
And the wind threat continues to the south as these showers continue, with a 44 mph gust already recorded at the main airport in Birmingham, Alabama.
The south should start to dry out by the second half of the week.