Two derailed cars were carrying ethanol and are leaking; experts &
contracts on the way to the scene to assess and work with emergency
crews to safely clean up the derailment. Conductor and Engineer on board
the train were unhurt and no other injuries were reported.
Facebook: Erie News Now - Your News Team
March 5, 2016 - NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- A train has derailed near the town of Ripley, New York State,
officials said, adding that two of the derailed cars were carrying
ethanol, which is currently leaking.
Dozens of homes in the area have been evacuated.
The incident took place on Norfolk-Southern rails on Tuesday night, the NY Fire Department told Erie News.
Facebook: Erie News Now - Your News Team
The train was pulling 33 cars, 14 of which derailed, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson said. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's office, however, said 18 cars derailed.
The authorities have evacuated more than 20 homes within 300 meters of the incident. According to local WGRZ news, about 45 homes have been evacuated.
Cleanup is underway along the rail line in Ripley. The ethanol leak is contained and propane is secure. @wgrzhttps://t.co/N1K4VfnOnX
“We have no estimate as to how much has leaked,” said Dave Pidgeon, manager of public relations for Norfolk Southern. “We are bringing in our experts and contractors to work with first responders to decide a plan of action.”
Two employees on board the train, the conductor and engineer, were unhurt, officials said.
Ethanol is a hazardous material which is highly flammable and causes intoxication. - RT.
People crowded round while scientists examined one of the whales. Reuters
January 25, 2016 - UNITED KINGDOM - A fifth sperm whale has been washed up on the east coast of England.
It follows the death of a beached whale in Hunstanton, Norfolk, on Friday and the discovery of three carcasses near Skegness over the weekend.
The sperm whales are believed to be from a pod spotted off the Norfolk coast.
The fifth whale was found at Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, on Monday afternoon, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported.
It was found on the site of a former bombing range, and warnings have been issued for people to stay away.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust tweeted: "There is no public access to the area and it is extremely dangerous with tidal creeks and the potential for unexploded ordinance. Many of the lanes to the marshes are private and not accessible."
Marine biologists were using a probe to examine one of the Skegness whales earlier on Monday when there was a "huge blast of air", said BBC reporter David Sykes.
One of the whales had the letters CND spray-painted on its tail. Getty Images
Another was daubed with the words "mans fault". Getty Images
People are being advised not to get too close to the dead whales. Getty Images
The two other whales were found at Gibraltar Point. Kurnia Aerial Photography
The letters CND had also been spray-painted by someone on the whale's tail.
CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) said the action was not carried out by the organisation at a national level.
December 29, 2015 - UNITED KINGDOM - The balmy winter weather with its bees, butterflies and flowering bulbs
has produced another phenomenal sighting of a swallow on the wing. And
not just any swallow.
A rare red-rumped swallow from the Mediterranean is spending its
Christmas on the North Norfolk coast - further evidence that December
2015 is likely to go down on record as the warmest since records began.
The red-rumped swallow that has brought a dash of seasonal, russet
colour to our shores is finding enough small insects to maintain its
energy levels as it patrols the skies over Norfolk's network of famous
nature reserves.
By rights, the red-rumped swallow should be enjoying sunshine
south of the Sahara or even as far away as India rather than the skies
over Wells-next-the-Sea.
Temperatures as high as 16 degrees in recent days are also helping other
fair weather species to survive. A hoopoe has been showing off its
powder pink plumage at Hinksford in Staffordshire.
These dazzling birds occasionally turn up Britain during spring
when they overshoot their breeding grounds around the Mediterranean.
Warm weather with its glut of small insects is also helping several tiny warblers to stay alive.
Dusky, yellow-browed and Pallas's warblers have all been seen in
different parts of the UK in recent days when, by rights, they were
meant to have migrated from their Siberian nesting areas to tropical
South East Asia.
Grahame Madge, a wildlife enthusiast and spokesman for the Met Office,
explained why nature lovers have been enjoying an unusual Christmas
bonanza.
"If conditions remain as mild as they have been for the rest of the
month we are on track for the warmest UK December since records began in
1910," he said.
"The mild temperatures have been due to warm air being pushed up from the subtropics around the Azores.
"Given the origin of our mild weather, it's perhaps not unsurprising
that birds more normally seen around the Mediterranean are here in
December.
"For some of these birds, the mild conditions have thrown them a
lifeline as flying insects and other invertebrates have been in
plentiful supply. - Daily Express.
Brian, who has three ears, is believed to be between four and ten years old.
November 15, 2015 - BRITAIN - Staff at a Norfolk rescue centre were equally perplexed when one intrepid feline arrived sporting an extra ear.
As Feline Care Cat Rescue in East Harling continue to care for the
moggie, it is hoped its owner will now step forward. Brian, as he has
been affectionately called, arrived at the centre on Monday after being
caught in one of the centre's traps after setting off security alarms at
a nearby business.
Manager of the centre, Molly Farrar, said: "We expected it to be one of
our own cats who'd been causing problems so this handsome, mature
gentleman was quite a surprise to us.
"We've cared for plenty of cats with one eye, three legs or six toes and
several cats with no tail left, but this is our first three-eared cat.
The centre is hoping that Brian has not been dumped but has simply got lost.
Miss Farrar, 38, said: "He's obviously very distinctive with his
extra little ear so someone must be missing him or recognise him.
"He's in a bit of a tatty and skinny state. He's been in the wars a bit
and has a fractured canine tooth and ear mites so he obviously needs
looking after.
"We see all sorts of cats here but Brian is by far the most unusual, he is something special."
On Monday night, Brian was given the once over by vet Marcus Wilson from
Knotts Yard Veterinary Practice in Watton who put the unique feature
down to a birth defect.
Miss Farrar, who has been at the centre for nine years, said: "It's the first three-eared cat Marcus has seen in all his years of practice."
Brian, who was named after the man who found him, is believed to be between four and ten years old.
If his owners are not found he will be put up for adoption.
The centre is currently running with more cats on the books than usual
with 170 moggies on site and more than 100 on the waiting list. - Eastern Daily Press.
Police and rescue services at the scene at Old Buckenham Air Field Photo: Jeremy Durkin
April 22, 2015 - ENGLAND - A pilot has died after his light aircraft reportedly crashed during an aerobatics display in Norfolk.
Emergency crews were called to Old Buckenham Airfield near Attleborough at about 2.40pm after a member of the public raised concerns about a plane flying in the area.
The pilot, named locally as David Jenkins, was flying an Edge 360 plane, which is understood to have been taking part in a media event to launch the Old Buckenham Airshow.
Mr Jenkins, who was in his 50s, was a member of the Wildcat Aerobatic Team, based at the airfield.
A friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "He was the best bloke I knew.
"He was highly skilled and knew exactly what he was doing."
According to his profile on the team's website, Mr Jenkins bought the Edge aircraft in 2009 and was a two-time British advanced aerobatic champion.
Police have confirmed that a person has died following a light aircraft crash in Norfolk. Credit: ITV News Anglia
David Jenkins was described as a "highly skilled" pilot
The plane was operating from Old Buckenham Airfield in Norfolk
An ambulance leaves Old Buckenham Airfield
Emergency services arrive on the scene of a plane #crash at Old Buckenham airfield
Simon Garrett, a pilot who flew out of the airfield on Wednesday morning, said he found out about the crash when he returned in the evening and was diverted elsewhere.
He said: "It is a terrible tragedy and very unusual because the teams involved are highly skilled.
"I knew the gentleman involved and he was very experienced."
A Norfolk Police spokesman said: "Officers attended, along with colleagues from Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and the East of England Ambulance Service, to find wreckage near to the airfield.
"Police believe one person has died as a result of the crash and officers are currently trying to identify and inform next of kin."
The crash site has been cordoned off and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch informed. - SKY News.
March 18, 2015 - UNITED STATES- A mysterious weather phenomenon is shaking up people from across the United States - unusual, unexplained loud booms, metallic and trumpet sounds. Here are two of the latest incidents.
Reports of sonic booms, ground shaking in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia
For a second day, people are wondering what's causing the ground to shake and where the loud booms are coming from.
On Monday, people called 13News Now and posting questions on our Facebook page
saying they felt the ground shake in Norfolk and Virginia Beach at two
distinctly different times - once at around 4:20 p.m. and again shortly
after 6 p.m.
On Tuesday, questions started coming in from the Peninsula.
Edna H. wrote, "I am in the Denbigh Section of Newport News. We have
already had 4 loud blasts in less than an hour. What is going on????"
Linda T asked "Where are the sonic booms coming from?"
The website for the U.S. Geological Survey
indicates that there have been no earthquakes recorded in our area in
the past 24 hours. Phone calls placed to area emergency dispatchers
found no actual reports of earthquakes, or damage from whatever the
shaking was.
A 2.5 magnitude earthquake was reported outside Richmond about three weeks ago.
The Navy said Tuesday they didn't have aircraft in the area.
A news release last week from the Navy indicated that they would be
conducting "intensive day and night flight operations" through the first
week of April.
The release went on to say: "These flight
operations, which include Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP)
conducted at Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF) Fentress in
Chesapeake, Virginia, are necessary for two Navy Carrier Air Wings and
the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) to complete required aircraft
carrier pre-deployment and sustainment training. Night flight operations
are expected to continue past midnight during this period. "
In the past, military aircraft breaking the sound barrier have caused a
sonic boom which some thought was an earthquake. However, there's no
definitive indication that these operations were the source of the
shaking. - 13 News Now.
Loud boom rocks towns around Flat Rock, Michigan
Police from Flat Rock have deemed
the town all clear; no sign of what
caused the mystery boom.
More
than a dozen residents called Flat Rock police to report hearing a loud
"boom," that some said shook their houses just before 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
After hours of searching the areas that people reported the noise,
which was loud enough to cause some residents to say their houses shook,
nothing was found.
By 11:30 p.m. the city was deemed "all clear," without the cause being discovered.Police
in Gibraltar, Huron Township, Rockwood and Monroe County were also
alerted to the noise, but nothing was discovered in those communities
either.
Hundreds of people from Newport to Taylor flocked to
social media, posting on Facebook, Twitter and other sites about hearing
the noise, feeling the vibration and speculating as to the cause.
"Sounded like a bomb went off," Flat Rock resident Jen Emerick said. "I live on Palmetto."
Dozens of others echoed her comments on the noise level. "I live in South Rockwood and it was so loud here felt like a truck hit my house and my house is brick," Ruth Apperson said in a Facebook post.
Fred Tanner said it was so loud that he felt it in his "insides."
"Shook the house, and our guts," he said.
As quick as the word of the "boom" spread, speculation started as to
what caused it. No official explanation has been given by officials in
any of the areas it was heard in.
One
rumor that was quickly spread was that a meteorite had struck the area
around Huroc Park, people in the area quickly squashed that, which only
lead to more speculation as to what had actually happened.
Other
people speculated that it was the cause of mining at the local rock
quarry, or underground blasting in the salt mines. Another popular
theory was that it was a "frost quake."
Frost quakes usually occur in cold weather as water freezes though, not after several days of warm weather.
Investigation into what happened continued into Thursday. - The News Herald.
June 18, 2014 - NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES - Twin tornadoes destroyed almost three-quarters of Pilger, a small
Nebraska town. According to one expert, the last powerful double tornado
on record occurred in 1999.
Near Wisner, Nebraska, 6/16/2014. Matt Coker
Residents of a small Nebraska town are returning to what is left of
their homes Tuesday after a pair of tornadoes flattened nearly every
brick structure in its path. Two people are dead.
"It was flatness," homeowner Jerry Meyer told the Omaha World-Herald. "There was nothing on my whole block."
The twin tornadoes on Monday are blamed for destroying almost
three-quarters of Pilger, Neb., a town of 350 people located 60 miles
southwest of Sioux City, Iowa. In all, four tornadoes struck the region
that includes the nearby towns of Wisner, Stanton, and Pender.
The two tornadoes hitting Pilger so hard touched down within a mile of
each other and then merged south of Pilger over the Elkhorn River, the
National Weather Service reports. While it is not uncommon for
one tornado to emerge following the dissipation of a first, it is rare
for two tornadoes to operate simultaneously, meteorologists say.
When two tornadoes do appear, one is often stronger
than the other. But this was not the case in Pilger, where both
tornadoes tore through the landscape with the same intensity.
It is more common for a second tornado to form by orbiting the primary
tornado, which ultimately dissipates before the satellite tornado
intensifies in strength, according to Greg Carbin, a meteorologist at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction
Center in Norman, Okla.
"Nothing says there needs to be a gap" between tornadoes, Mr. Carbin
told The Washington Post. "There usually is. Monday there wasn't."
Having two at full strength at the same time could mean they were
connected to a multiple vortex tornado, which features many tornadoes
moving in tandem around a main vortex.
According to Carbin, the last powerful double tornado on record occurred
on May 3, 1999. A total of 74 tornadoes touched down across Oklahoma
and Kansas, killing 46 people, injuring 800 others, and causing $1.5
billion in damage.
On Monday, about 75 percent of Pilger was either heavily damaged or
destroyed, confirmed Stanton County Sheriff Michael Unger. In addition
to the two people who died, 16 were hospitalized.
Despite the devastation - the town's middle school, post office, city
hall, and firehouse, along with three-quarters of its homes, were among
the destroyed buildings - Sheriff Unger said the town was fairly
fortunate, considering it had only 10 to 15 minutes of warning before
the tornadoes struck.
"We're small-town America. Our motto is, 'We're a town too tough to die,' " he told reporters Tuesday.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) has issued a state of emergency, and he
toured the damaged area Tuesday. He told onlookers the town will
rebuild.
"This is a tough little town that is not going to die, right?" he asked one resident.
While the tornadoes dissipated near Sioux City, harsh storms pounded
surrounding Midwestern states, causing damage and power outages.
MidAmerican Energy in Iowa reported more than 29,000 customers without
power in Des Moines and 213 without power in Council Bluffs.
Also, a tornado moved from northern Illinois into southern Wisconsin
after midnight Tuesday, the National Weather Service says. Platteville,
Wis., about 70 miles southwest of Madison, took the heaviest damage:
About 40 homes were damaged and five people injured. Three residence
halls and the football stadium at the University of Wisconsin satellite
campus were also damaged.
- Yahoo.
June 17, 2014 - NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES - A powerful storm with
tornadoes ripped through northeast Nebraska on Monday, destroying more
than half of the tiny town of Pilger, killing a 5-year-old child and
injuring at least 19 people, hospital and emergency officials said.
Photo from Twitter/@StormCoker
MAJOR damage here in Pilger, Nebraska need emergency personnel NOW!! @reedtimmerTVN
Tornado crossing 275 east of Pilger, Nebraska earlier. @StealthChaser
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
The
National Weather Service said dual twisters touched down within roughly
a mile of each other. Emergency crews and residents spent the evening
sorting through demolished homes and businesses in the community of
about 350, roughly 100 miles northwest of Omaha.
"More than half of the town is gone - absolutely gone," Stanton County Commissioner Jerry Weatherholt said. "The co-op is gone, the grain bins are gone, and it looks like almost every house in town has some damage. It's a complete mess."
Victims were taken to three regional hospitals, and at least one had died from unspecified injuries, hospital officials said.
WATCH: Massive tornado hits Nebraska.
Jodi Richey, a spokeswoman for Faith Regional Health Services in nearby Norfolk, said one person died and 16 others were being treated at the hospital. Hospital officials initially described those patients as being in critical condition, but said later that some had been released after treatment.
The Stanton County Sheriff's Office confirmed late Monday that the person killed was a 5-year-old child. It didn't specify the child's gender.
One was transferred to a trauma center in Omaha, while others required surgery, said Dr. Doug Dilly, who was in the emergency room when patients arrived.
Providence Medical Center in nearby Wayne treated three tornado patients, including two who had lacerations, said hospital spokeswoman Sandy Bartling. Two were released Monday evening, and the third patient was in stable condition, she said.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger estimated that 50 to 75 percent of Pilger was heavily damaged or destroyed in the storm. The local school is likely beyond repair, he said.
"It's total devastation," Unger said.
Authorities said the first tornado touched down around 3:45 p.m. and downed several power lines before it leveled a farmhouse. Four people were trapped inside.
While local crews removed them from the debris, a second tornado was spotted southwest of Pilger, according to the Stanton County Sheriff's Office. Shortly afterward, the town suffered a "direct hit" that leveled several buildings, including the Fire Department building, the sheriff's office said. Several people near Main Street in Pilger suffered critical injuries, including the child who later died.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman declared a state of emergency, and the National Guard was preparing to assist local emergency responders and help with the cleanup. Heineman and officials with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency were expected to arrive Tuesday morning.
Pilger was evacuated for the night, and the Nebraska State Patrol closed all roads into town. Most residents made their own arrangements, but some were taken to a shelter at Wisner-Pilger Jr.-Sr. High School in nearby Wisner.
About a dozen residents had arrived at the makeshift shelter by 9:30 p.m., and school officials were expecting more to come later, said Wisner-Pilger Schools Superintendent Chad Boyer. The shelter will remain open to residents for as long as needed to offer food, water, showers and cots, he said.
"I just have to use one word - devastation," Boyer said by phone from inside the school. "It's a tremendous loss all around the town. Certainly, our thoughts and prayers are with the community."
He said Wisner-Pilger Middle School, located in Pilger, was heavily damaged by the tornado, but he hadn't seen it up close.
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
AP Photo.
Tornadoes also caused damage in Cuming and Wayne counties, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said in a news release.
"We are still in a response mode in these communities," said Earl Imler, NEMA's operations officer. "We are collecting damage reports from local officials on the ground."
Officials won't know the intensity of the storms until late Tuesday at the earliest, after crews have examined the area, said Barbara Mayes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley.
Mayes said the dual tornadoes were unusual because both appeared to have roughly the same strength. In most cases, she said, one tornado tends to be larger and more powerful than the other, and the bigger cyclone grows stronger as the smaller one weakens.
"It's less common for two tornadoes to track together for so long, especially with that same intensity," she said. "By no means is it unprecedented. But we don't see it often."
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service also tracked a tornado near the town of Burwell, in central Nebraska. Mayes said they had not received reports of damage. - AP.
January 26, 2014 - BRITAIN - Parts of East Anglia could be abandoned to the sea forever after being flooded eight weeks ago, the Environment Agency has said.
Floods in Somerset - People stop to look at a flooded road leading to village of Muchelney that has been cut off by flood water in Somerset.
Repairing or improving flood defences is so expensive that areas of countryside which are still under water could be deserted, says Environment Agency
The largest tidal surge in 60 years hit the east coast on December 5 and 6 causing extensive flooding as water poured over the top of flood defences or broke through them.
Repairing or improving flood defences is so expensive that areas of countryside which are still under water could be abandoned if no one lives there.
Floods in Kent - Residents Ian Peacock and Caroline Hine leave the Little Venice Caravan Park in a boat after the heavy rains brought back the floods in the area. Gareth Fuller/PA
Floods in Kent - A resident walks through the Little Venice Caravan Park in Yalding, Kent, as flood waters return to the site after recent bad weather. Gareth Fuller/PA
Floods in Surrey - Flood water from the River Mole rises after recent heavy rain in Leatherhead, England. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
“We must prioritise repairs to flood defences that protect homes and communities and we are getting on with this,” said an Environment Agency spokeswoman.
“Coastal wildlife sites provide important flood defence functions as well as havens for wildlife. We are working with Natural England on how these wildlife sites will evolve in the future.”
Floods in Kent - A couple in a canoe travel across the flood water near Yalding Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Floods in Kent - A resident measures the level of flood water outside his home in Yalding. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Floods in Kent - Resident Jeff Hopcroft looks out from his flooded house on January 2, 2014 in Yalding, England. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
More than 370 acres of land are still submerged and areas close to Brancaster, Blakeney and Salthouse in north Norfolk, are among the places most likely to be left to the sea. The Agency is talking to landowners about which places can be left unprotected.
Floods in Somerset - Flooded fields can be seen near the village of Burrowbridge. Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Floods in Somerset - A car drives through flood water on the A361, which has been closed to traffic due to flooding, at Burrowbridge Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Floods in Kent - A car tackles flood waters near Headcorn, KentGareth Fuller/PA
Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, told MPs on Thursday: “The question has to be do we reinstate those defences and then allow fresh water habitat to re-establish or do we allow inter-tidal habitat to establish? These are big questions.” - Independent.
January 08, 2014 - UNITED KINGDOM - The US Air Force (USAF) confirmed one of its military helicopters crashed on the east coast of Britain. Four military personnel are believed to have died.
A Pave Hawk helicopter, military personnel and emergency services attend
the scene of a helicopter crash on the coast near the village of Cley
in Norfolk, eastern England January 8, 2014. (Reuters / Toby Melville)
A US defense official told the AP on condition of anonymity that four USAF members aboard the helicopter were killed in the accident. USAF did not immediately confirm the deaths.
The helicopter, which crashed over North Norfolk, was an HH-60G Pave Hawk, stationed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
Local police in Norfolk County said they believed there are no survivores in the crash. "Sadly at this time we believe that all four members of the crew have died,” Superintendent Roger Wiltshire stated, adding that the "[crash] took place on land, but on the marshes, towards the sea." The four-member crew remain at the scene of the accident. The public is urged to stay away for safety reasons, but no one is currently in danger apart from the crew.
This file photo shows a U.S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter on a training mission in 2011.
RAF Lakenheath confirmed that the helicopter was on a training mission during the accident. The base stations helicopters involved in international operations.
“The aircraft, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, was on a low-level training mission when the crash occurred. The conditions of the four crew members are unknown at this time,” RAF Lakenheath stated in a press release.
The RAF Lakenheath acts as a home to the USAF's 48th Fighter Wing, dubbed the Liberty Wing, which is part of US air support in Europe.
The cause of the crash is still not clear. The chairman of Cley parish council Richard Kelham described the helicopter crashing in the middle of a bird reserve, according to the Guardian.
Local emergency services are currently working at the scene in the Cley area and have cordoned off a 400 m area.
Emergency vehicles drive past a police road-block in the village of Cley
in Norfolk, east England, January 8, 2014. (Reuters / Toby Melville)
Police believe that there might be ammunition onboard the helicopter.
Norfolk Fire Service spokesman said first help arrived at 19:53 GMT. It was first believed that the helicopter fell into the North Sea.
"We were asked for three lifeboats to respond,” a spokesman for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said. "Crews from Wells, Sheringham and Cromer were launched at the request of the coastguard but were stood down when it was confirmed that the aircraft had come down over land." - RT.
July 25, 2013 - UNITED STATES - There is a risk of regional damaging thunderstorms and flash flooding Thursday into Friday over the Great Plains to part of the Upper Midwest.
Severe Storm Risk From Oklahoma City To Minneapolis.
During Thursday into Thursday night, thunderstorms will organize into
two or three complexes that can bring adverse impact to outdoor plans
and travel from Oklahoma City to Omaha, Neb., and Minneapolis.
The
storms will encompass an area over 250,000 square miles and can affect
approximately 10 million people over the Central states.
One
group of storms will affect parts of Kansas to Oklahoma and northern
Texas Thursday into Thursday night. These storms bring an elevated risk
of flash and urban flooding, as well is isolated damaging wind gusts.
Since the middle of May, Oklahoma City has received 2 feet of rain, which is more than double the city's average rainfall.
Farther north, one or two groups of storms will push out of the
Dakotas and move across Minnesota and into Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska
Thursday into Thursday night. These storms bring an elevated risk of
damaging wind gusts and hail but can also bring isolated flash and urban
flooding.
During Friday, the threat of strong to
locally severe thunderstorms and the potential for flash and urban
flooding will reach from northern Texas to Michigan. Cities that could
be affected Friday include Dallas and Chicago.
A very small number of the storms throughout the Plains and Upper Midwest can also produce a short-lived tornado.
People should remain alert for rapidly changing weather conditions.
Remember never to drive through flooded roads, and seek shelter indoors at the first sign of a storm's approach. If you can hear thunder, you are at risk for being struck by lightning.
The storms are preceding a push of cooler air for the weekend taking aim over the northern and central Plains to the Midwest. Seasonable temperatures are in store for the southern Plains.
Rain To Cool, Hug Coast From Norfolk To Boston.
An area of rain will erupt along the East coast from southeastern Virginia to southeastern New England Thursday into Friday.
Some
beach communities right could be thoroughly drenched. A few spots could
be hit with flash and urban flooding. Rain will brush some of the I-95
cities in the Northeast as well.
While cooler, less
humid air continued to expand over the Northeast Thursday, it will not
be enough to prevent a new swath of rain from affecting many coastal
areas.
The cool pattern, with and without rain, in the
Northeast will represent a big change from the heat and high humidity
from last week. AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures in some areas
with the rain may be more than 30 degrees lower, when compared to the
heat, sunshine and high humidity recently.
Around
Norfolk, Va., an inch of rain fell in about an hour early Thursday
morning. Similar rainfall rates could occur around Boston late Thursday
into early Friday.
Dry air is forecast to chase the
rain away over much of eastern Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula and New
Jersey during Friday. However, rain may continue farther to the
northeast along the coast.
There is a chance of heavy
rain, lasting several hours from southeastern Delaware, to southern New
Jersey and the Long Island beaches to Cape Cod.
Farther west, the rain is more likely to be very spotty and light spotty from Philadelphia to New York City, Hartford, Conn., Worcester, Mass., and Portland, Maine.
The rain is likely to stay away from much of the area from central Virginia and West Virginia to northwest New England Thursday and Friday, before returning later in the weekend.
According to Mark Mancuso, "There is a slight chance a very weak tropical system forms in the pattern along the Atlantic coast before the end of the week."
A series of systems originating from the central Plains will take a left turn along the East coast into the end of the week.
"The systems will tap into tropical moisture as they reach Atlantic waters and can bring very heavy rainfall in a narrow zone right along the coast," Mancuso added.
While the pattern favors a quick rebound in humidity levels, it does not favor extreme heat at the same time. High temperatures will tend to average below normal through the weekend.
