Gusty storms to rattle New York to Florida Friday evening

Drenching showers and locally severe thunderstorms will continue to race eastward into Friday evening along a strong cold front stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast.

The greatest concentration of severe thunderstorms will be in the South, but gusty winds in the absence of thunder can occur farther north around the central Appalachians to the lower Great Lakes.

“Strong winds and heavy rain will be the main threats with these storms, but watch for some areas of flooding,” said AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Storm Warning Meteorologist Kate Danna.

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During Friday evening, brief bursts of rain and strong winds can affect cities from Buffalo, New York, to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida.

“Strengthening storm dynamics over the Great Lakes region could bring the strong storm threat farther north,” said Danna.

Tree limbs may come down and sporadic power outages may occur as a result, and folks will want to prepare ahead of time. Have batteries on hand or make sure your generator is in operating order.

Blinding, windswept rain will reduce the visibility for motorists. People are urged to give themselves extra time on the roadway and to avoid high water by choosing alternative routes. Remember, turn around; don’t drown.

The severe storm threat will diminish overnight Friday into Saturday, but locally heavy rain and gusty winds will continue to be featured along Interstate 95 corridor.

Enough rain can fall in portions of the Northeast to cause isolated incidents of urban flooding, especially in areas of New England and upstate New York, where leaves have begun to fall and have blocked storm drains.

The same cold front sparked severe thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday across the Plains into the Mississippi Valley. Thursday into Thursday night featured the most severe weather incidents.

A gusty line of storms slammed Missouri to eastern Texas, tearing down trees, power lines and even producing a couple tornadoes in Missouri.

“Widespread wind damage was reported around the Dallas and Little Rock areas,” said Danna.

The same front, backed by a chilly wind, will again battle with warm and moist air ahead of it through Friday night.

In the wake of the front, cold air will drop high temperatures between 15 to 25 degrees across the Great Lakes to the Deep South between Friday and Saturday.

Snow will mix in with rain at times across northern Minnesota to Wisconsin through Saturday morning.