What to Know
- The tri-state area was hit with another round of storms Friday; wind damage was the primary threat and brought down trees, with multiple reports of hail and flash flooding throughout the region
- Once the storms move on, a boost in temperatures could kick off the first heatwave of 2021 by early next week
- Temps are expected to soar into the mid-80s Saturday and they should climb to 90 by Sunday
Yet another bout of thunderstorms and heavy rain is pummeling parts of the tri-state area Friday ahead of what could become the city's first heatwave of 2021.
After a muggy start to the day, several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for New York City and the surrounding counties (Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk). In New Jersey, severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for more than a dozen counties through the early evening, as the storms made their way from west to east. The last of the severe thunderstorm warnings expired by 5:30 p.m., as the storms were moving away from the Jersey Shore.
Quarter-sized hail was possible for parts of the city as the storms rolled through, and reports of pea-sized hail fell near JFK and LaGuardia airports. More common were reports of flash flooding on roads, after getting hit with a deluge of rain suddenly. Video from the Upper East Side of Manhattan showed some street flooding and small hail just after 4 p.m.
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There were also reports of downed trees in Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as Morris and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.
Check the latest alerts for your neighborhood here.
Local
Wind gusts up to 60 mph and nickel-sized hail were possible for some of the more southern counties. Warren County looked to be particularly hit hard. Wind damage seemed likely to pose the biggest threat, but tornadoes were also possible.
There were a couple hundred power outages reported in New York and Connecticut, while more than 5,500 customers were without electricity in New Jersey, as of 5 p.m.
A severe thunderstorm watch, meanwhile, is in effect for all five boroughs of New York City along with New York's Rockland, Westchester and Nassau Counties until 8 p.m. That same watch also applies to Connecticut's Fairfield County and Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union counties in New Jersey. Check the latest alerts for your neighborhood here.
Conditions will dry out once the storms pass by 8 p.m., and remaining clouds will clear out overnight. Temps are expected to soar into the mid-80s Saturday and they should climb to 90 by Sunday, which would mark the first 90-degree temperature for Central Park in 2021.
It doesn't look like temperatures will reach 90 on Monday, with highs likely falling just a few degrees shy — meaning that the first official heat wave of 2021 won't come for now. But that doesn't mean it cools down right away, with temperatures staying in the upper 80s through Wednesday.
The hotter weather will eventually break, as the chance for more isolated afternoon storms returns Tuesday and Wednesday. Those storms will break the streak of hot days, bringing temperatures back down to the low 80s or upper 70s through next weekend.
Track the approaching storms using our interactive radar below.
