50 Million in Eastern U.S. Face Severe Weather Warnings With Damaging Winds, Flight Delays, Hazardous Driving Conditions

The severe weather is expected to make driving and road conditions extremely hazardous.

Nearly 50 million people across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions are under severe weather warnings Wednesday and Thursday as a powerful cold front advances eastward.

The severe weather is already causing hundreds of flight delays and cancellations. At 2 p.m. EST, 2,153 flights had been delayed within, into, and out of the United States while an additional 150 were cancelled.

Multiple cities are under a Level 1 severe thunderstorm watch, the Storm Prediction Center, which is part of the National Weather Service, said. The list includes Knoxville, Tennessee; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Charleston, West Virginia; Albany, New York; Burlington, Vermont; Pittsburgh and Scranton, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and Washington, D.C.

“A strong cold front will cross the Eastern U.S. today with widespread gusty to high winds, showers and thunderstorms, some severe, and in the Great Lakes and Northeast a change to snow following the front,” the National Weather Service said in a statement Wednesday morning.

South of New York City, a potent cold front will impact the region Wednesday into the overnight period and weak low pressure could result in unsettled weather through at least the weekend.

Meanwhile, the New York metro area will see a strong frontal system this evening followed by a strong cold front Thursday. High pressure will build up and move out into the Atlantic by Friday afternoon.

The weekend forecast is for unsettled weather thanks to an inverted trough or wave of low pressure through Monday.

Strong winds and thunderstorms are causing significant property damage as the front moves east. In the Dayton area, the storm knocked a large tree into a home near Huber Heights, and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (96 km/h) were observed near Springfield and London, both in Ohio.

John Glenn Airport in Columbus was under a tornado warning and officials there told passengers in the terminals to seek shelter while the warning was in effect.

A likely tornado hit a shopping center just east of Dayton, blowing out glass from storefronts. It also toppled several trees nearby, the National Weather Service reported.

Kentucky has seen damaging winds and large hail, with gusts also hitting 60 mph (96 km/h).  Hail exceeding 1” (2.5 cm) in diameter was detected by radar.

Severe weather is also forecast for other parts of the country, particularly the West Coast.

“Another significant winter storm will bring impacts (sic) to the West Coast beginning late tonight into the weekend,” the NWS said. “Very heavy mountain snow, strong winds, and heavy rain will all be possible.”

(Photo: Accura Media Group)