No surprise... today will feature gloomy conditions and another chance for showers and even a few isolated strong to severe thunderstorms across the viewing area. That is why all of Maryland and much of the Mid-Atlantic region are under a Marginal Risk (level 1/5). Keep an eye to the sky today.
Maryland will be sandwiched in between a warm front and a cold front this afternoon.
The combination of:
-Breaks in the clouds behind the warm front
-Dew points in the low to mid-70s
-High temperatures in the mid-80s
-A cold front approaching from the northwest
= Plenty of instability in the atmosphere.
The timing for severe weather looks to occur between the hours of 4-10 PM this evening. During that six hour window, you want to stay vigilant. The biggest threats will be strong damaging wind gusts, hail, and periods of heavy rainfall. An isolated tornado cannot be completely ruled out as there will be some modest shear present (variation of wind speeds with height)--this can help spin ups form.
Now as we turn the page to Thursday, we have an even GREATER chance for more organized, but short-lived strong to severe thunderstorms as a secondary cold front approaches from our northwest. The areas highlighted in yellow will be under a Slight Risk (level 2/5) and this includes Maryland, Delaware, and parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey.
Some of the storms that move through Thursday afternoon/evening may produce heavy rain, large-sized hail, damaging wind gusts, and a few isolated tornadoes.
#Staytuned
