WORCESTER, Mass. – People across the Northeast and New England will need to keep an eye on the sky Sunday as a strong cold front slices through the region and breaks the recent brutal heat wave, but that will also trigger the development of strong to severe thunderstorms that could produce large hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes.
Tornado Watch issued for 5 states in Northeast
On Sunday afternoon, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a Tornado Watch for more than 8 million people in parts of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The Tornado Watch remains in effect until 8 p.m. ET.
Boston is not included in the Tornado Watch, but it does include the city’s northern and western suburbs.
The SPC placed nearly 61 million people in 14 states, from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, in a Level 2 out of 5 risk on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale on Sunday.
That threat zone includes major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington and Baltimore through Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
However, the SPC has highlighted an area of the Northeast that is in a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe weather on Sunday and includes cities in five states – New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Among the communities within that Level 3 risk zone are Albany in New York, Springfield, Worcester, Lowell and Lawrence in Massachusetts, Nashua, Manchester and Concord in New Hampshire and Montpelier and Brattleboro in Vermont.
New England tornado threat highest in 6 years
For the areas under a Level 3 risk of severe weather in central and northern New England, the tornado threat on Sunday is the highest it’s been in about six years, according to historical data from the SPC.
The FOX Forecast Center said the favorable environmental conditions, combined with the position of warm fronts and cold fronts, could lead to a setup for severe weather on Sunday that doesn’t often happen in the region.
According to SPC data, Maine and Massachusetts typically only see about two tornadoes each year, while neighboring Vermont and New Hampshire only see about one per year.
Because tornadoes are infrequent in New England, many communities do not have outdoor warning sirens, which are typically found in tornado-prone areas of the central and southern U.S.
Instead, residents are encouraged to have other ways to receive important weather alerts, such as the free FOX Weather app.
New York City, Philadelphia see higher wind threat
Major cities such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore are in the Level 2 out of 5 risk zone for severe weather.
Due to the orientation of these communities relative to the approaching cold front, damaging wind gusts are considered to be their primary threat, rather than hail or tornadoes.
The chances for significant precipitation are expected to end during the overnight hours as the cold front pushes offshore by Monday morning’s commute.
Unlike some frontal boundaries that are merely a cold front by name, this one is expected to lower afternoon highs by about 10-20 degrees on Monday.
The relief from the heat will mean communities that recently experienced record highs will now have temperatures closer to average and, in some cases, below typical summer values.
However, the relief is expected to be brief as temperatures will climb back to average or higher by midweek.
