BALTIMORE — Our hot and sticky setup leaves us primed for severe weather this Monday. As a cold front continues to push through the Mid-Atlantic bringing much more seasonable temperatures, it also bring in those severe storms. The Storm Prediction Center has almost the entire state of Maryland under a Slight (level 2/5) risk, with the main threats being damaging winds and heavy rainfall. While unlikely, an isolated tornado is also possible in a very strong storm cell.
Timing of the storms will be between 2 and 3 pm this afternoon and finally push out east towards Delaware by about 8 pm. The storms will be strongest at around 4 or 5 pm as we have more clear and daytime warmth to work with. Most storm cells will be in either clusters or strong individual cells with weaker updrafts but conditions around the northeast corner of the state can support a supercell-like structure. That would be the type of storm that could spawn a brief spin-up. Hail is not much of a factor as the updrafts will not be as supportive but we could see up to quarter sized hail possible with nickel sized more likely.
While the severe storms do put a bit of a damper on our day at least the cooler and drier air behind it will bring in a much more comfortable Tuesday.
To warp it all up, be sure to stay weather aware today and have a reliable way to get weather alerts during the afternoon hours.