Bolaris: Storm will bring a Thanksgiving travel nightmare
The meteorologist says the timing of an East Coast storm couldn't be worse.
An East Coast storm will soon impact the Northeast with flooding rain, sleet and snow, and the arrival of the storm couldn't be worse.
The storm will first begin to be felt by late Tuesday as rain spreads into the Delaware Valley. It will be all liquid to start from Philadelphia and locations east of the I-95 corridor. Some sleet and wet snow will break out across sections of the Lehigh Valley and Poconos on Tuesday evening.
The entire region will be all rain by late Tuesday night. Flooding rains will disrupt travel not only on land but in the air as well, come your big travel day on Wednesday. The brunt of the storm will take place late Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, as possible flash flooding of creeks seems likely, and leaves will help to clog storm drains leading to serious street and highway flooding. Winds should not be a major factor until later in the day Wednesday as pressure gradients tighten with colder air starting to move in on the storm's western flank. Tidal flooding along shore locations will take place, but as of now I'm only looking at minor tidal flooding due to the stretched-out isobaric component of this double-barrel storm.
Winds will increase Wednesday afternoon along with periods of cold rain. As the storm pulls away by Wednesday evening, temperatures will drop and any rain could end as some wet snow, especially across Bucks, northern Montgomery, and northern Chester counties - north and west of the Blue Route.
This storm has been sweeping through the Southwest with heavy snows for Arizona and the Rockies, with some reports of close to two feet of snow. Ice has made travel a nightmare across Texas and Oklahoma. Severe storms and possible tornadoes will spread into the eastern Gulf states and the Panhandle of Florida by Tuesday morning.
All travel will be disrupted in some shape or form from Miami to Portland, Maine on Tuesday and Wednesday. My best advice: change your travel plans for a getaway on Monday ahead of the storm, or wait it out and travel on Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving will see a return to sunshine, but it will be windy and cold in the 30s. Milder and remaining dry for Friday and Saturday. A weak disturbance could produce a rain and or wet snow shower later in the day Sunday.