Blustery winds to howl across Northeast, threatening damage
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 9, 2020 4:11 PM EDT
Not only has Old Man Winter awakened from his slumber, unleashing heavy April snow in some areas, but also winds will howl across the northeastern United States as air more typical of early March drills into the region.
Strong wind gusts became powerful enough to break tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages on Friday. As heavy rain and thunderstorms swept through portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and even southern New England, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were reported.
The widespread damaging wind gusts associated with thunderstorm activity during the day on Thursday is not expected to be as severe on Friday, but the forceful winds will continue threatening canopies that have been set up at COVID-19 triage and testing centers across the region. AccuWeather is offering free severe weather warning service for hospital and health centers during this time of crisis.
As a storm rapidly strengthens and produces heavy snow over northern New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, air rushing toward the center of the system will continue to produce strong wind gusts from the Great Lakes to coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic and New England on Friday.
A storm is essentially a giant vacuum cleaner with low pressure near its core. Sometimes storms create little wind because the air may be moving in different directions at different layers of the atmosphere. However, when winds are generally aligned near the ground and at the jet stream level of the atmosphere, or around the altitude where planes fly, strong gusts from aloft can easily reach down to the surface. Winds will generally be aligned across much of the region late this week.
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Even though winds will ease over the western and central Great Lakes area on Friday, they are forecast to remain quite strong and gusty from the eastern Great Lakes to coastal areas of the Northeast.
"On Friday, west to northwest wind gusts will continue to average 40-50 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 55 mph," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Airline passengers should be prepared for bumpy conditions when flying through the region, especially as aircraft are gaining altitude after takeoff and when descending while approaching their destination.
Trash cans can become projectiles in the anticipated blustery conditions. Setting out bagged trash rather than placing loose items in cans could help to avoid these containers blowing along with considerable force once trash has been collected. Forecasters recommend tying down other loose items that could become projectiles to avoid broken windows, damaged vehicles and dangers to passing pedestrians.
Winds will ease over the mid-Atlantic, central Appalachians and eastern Great Lakes later Friday night and Saturday. However, blustery conditions are likely to continue across much of New England.
Following a tranquil and, in some cases, a frosty night Saturday night, winds will pick up from the south on Sunday as a storm approaches the region from the Gulf Coast. That storm is forecast to bring multiple days of severe weather to the Southern states this weekend and could bring powerful storms to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts on Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Blustery winds to howl across Northeast, threatening damage
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 9, 2020 4:11 PM EDT
Not only has Old Man Winter awakened from his slumber, unleashing heavy April snow in some areas, but also winds will howl across the northeastern United States as air more typical of early March drills into the region.
Strong wind gusts became powerful enough to break tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages on Friday. As heavy rain and thunderstorms swept through portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and even southern New England, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were reported.
The widespread damaging wind gusts associated with thunderstorm activity during the day on Thursday is not expected to be as severe on Friday, but the forceful winds will continue threatening canopies that have been set up at COVID-19 triage and testing centers across the region. AccuWeather is offering free severe weather warning service for hospital and health centers during this time of crisis.
As a storm rapidly strengthens and produces heavy snow over northern New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, air rushing toward the center of the system will continue to produce strong wind gusts from the Great Lakes to coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic and New England on Friday.
A storm is essentially a giant vacuum cleaner with low pressure near its core. Sometimes storms create little wind because the air may be moving in different directions at different layers of the atmosphere. However, when winds are generally aligned near the ground and at the jet stream level of the atmosphere, or around the altitude where planes fly, strong gusts from aloft can easily reach down to the surface. Winds will generally be aligned across much of the region late this week.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Even though winds will ease over the western and central Great Lakes area on Friday, they are forecast to remain quite strong and gusty from the eastern Great Lakes to coastal areas of the Northeast.
"On Friday, west to northwest wind gusts will continue to average 40-50 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 55 mph," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Airline passengers should be prepared for bumpy conditions when flying through the region, especially as aircraft are gaining altitude after takeoff and when descending while approaching their destination.
Trash cans can become projectiles in the anticipated blustery conditions. Setting out bagged trash rather than placing loose items in cans could help to avoid these containers blowing along with considerable force once trash has been collected. Forecasters recommend tying down other loose items that could become projectiles to avoid broken windows, damaged vehicles and dangers to passing pedestrians.
Related:
Winds will ease over the mid-Atlantic, central Appalachians and eastern Great Lakes later Friday night and Saturday. However, blustery conditions are likely to continue across much of New England.
Following a tranquil and, in some cases, a frosty night Saturday night, winds will pick up from the south on Sunday as a storm approaches the region from the Gulf Coast. That storm is forecast to bring multiple days of severe weather to the Southern states this weekend and could bring powerful storms to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts on Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo