Warning of severe storms and flash flooding due to cold front in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic

A cold front is moving into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

The system could unleash severe storms and flash flooding beginning Tuesday.

Hail and tornadoes may also occur, according to forecasts.

A cold front moving from the central United States into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic will likely cause severe storms and flash flooding by midweek, according to forecasts released Tuesday by Fox Weather.

The cold front moved through the north-central states on Monday and brought severe storms to parts of the Northern Plains and upper Midwest during the afternoon and evening. Emergency services reported two tornadoes in eastern South Dakota on Monday night.

Cold front hits the Northeast and mid-Atlantic

Other strong thunderstorms snapped large trees and power lines from Dakota to Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Transportation observing station recorded maximum winds of 91 mph, and the Sioux Falls Airport in South Dakota recorded winds of 82 mph, Fox Weather reported.

The storms also dropped heavy rain in parts of Montana, where the Cut Bank tied its second-wettest day on record with 2.57 inches of rain. The city averages just 10.72 inches of rain a year, according to the report.

Severe storms and strong winds

Typical of the month of June, the same cold front will bring additional rounds of severe storms as it moves east on Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22. A few strong to severe storms are expected today from central Kansas to the northeast and into the western and northern Great Lakes. Strong winds and hail are the main risks in those areas.

Then on Wednesday afternoon and evening, isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible from the Ohio Valley to parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The greatest potential for severe storms extends from New York’s Finger Lakes south to Pennsylvania, the West Virginia Panhandle, Maryland and northern Virginia, Fox Weather said.

Warning of possible tornado and flash flooding

Reference photo: Shutterstock

Damaging wind gusts are the main threat, but isolated hail and one or two tornadoes are also possible, the report said. Rains and thunderstorms on Wednesday could lead to flash flooding areas.

The greatest risk of flash flooding is in a north-south corridor from the Finger Lakes of New York south to central Pennsylvania, Maryland, and extreme northwestern Virginia. A day later, on Thursday June 23, the threat of severe weather will move back to the northern and central United States, where isolated severe storms with damaging winds and hail are possible in the northern High Plains, Central Plains and upper Midwest, Fox Weather said.