Saturday and Sunday provided a lovely start to Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, the holiday itself turned out to be not nearly as ideal. Hopefully you were able to fit your beach days and barbeques into the first half of the weekend — today will be much better suited to indoor plans.
The morning was almost completely rain-free, but that's not when the severe weather was expected to begin.
Starting in the early afternoon, a few isolated rumbles of thunder or heavier showers will be possible. So don’t leave the house without the rain gear.
By the mid-afternoon, a strong line of storms starts to move through the area. The main time frame to keep in mind is 2 p.m. through 9 p.m., when the greatest impacts can be expected, especially when it comes to travel.
A severe thunderstorm watch was issued until 9 p.m. for all of New York City, central and northern New Jersey, as well as the Hudson Valley. Those watches will likely extend to Long Island before the evening. A flood advisory is also in effect for the NYC metro area until 4 p.m., with an inch of rain expected to come down in about an hour's time, leading to possible flooding on roads or along stream banks.
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The biggest concerns with today’s storms are damaging winds and large hail. Expect wind gusts up to 60mph. Winds of this strength can damage trees and knock down power lines. Large hail produced by this system may reach an inch in diameter and result in minor damage to property.
Flash flooding is also a concern across the area, especially in northwest NJ and into the Hudson Valley. This system will bring through some locally heavy rainfall, with parts of our area accumulating over 2 inches of rain. Exercise extreme caution if you must be out on the roads and avoid driving through standing water.
Even the threat of a tornado is on the table, with western New Jersey and into eastern Pennsylvania as the areas most at risk for one.
Make sure you have a way of getting warnings, especially if you live in Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon or Somerset county in New Jersey, or Pike County in Pennsylvania. Chances for a tornado diminish considerably for those in the city and eastward.
Stay weather-aware today and if you’re trying to squeeze out some last-minute outdoor plans, make sure you can get inside quickly once the weather starts to turn.
If your timetable is a little flexible and you are planning on driving, consider pushing your trip until tomorrow morning, when conditions will be much quieter. If you have a flight out of one of the major airports, make sure you’re checking the status of your flight regularly, with delays and cancellations are likely.
Due to the weather, all inbound flights into LaGuardia and JFK airports were being held at their origin during the late afternoon, until 4:45 p.m. There were arrival and departure delays of just over an hour at LaGuardia, while JFK Airport saw departure delays of about 45 minutes as of 4 p.m.
If you’re thinking that Memorial Day weekends in recent years have not been very nice, it’s not your imagination.
Historically, it has been difficult for our area to get a perfectly dry Memorial Day weekend. Even though this year follows that trend, look on the bright side. We’ll have quite nice weather for the majority of the holiday weekend this year!
