As the extended July Fourth holiday weekend progresses, severe storms are expected to affect a wide area of the United States, spanning from New York and Pennsylvania to Arkansas.
According to NBC News, the strongest storms will specifically target Kentucky and Tennessee, with the potential to bring damaging wind gusts exceeding 65 mph and hail the size of pingpong balls. The possibility of a tornado or two cannot be ruled out.
On Sunday, approximately 51 million people in the affected areas are at risk of experiencing severe thunderstorms from the afternoon through the evening. This includes Nashville, Memphis, Louisville, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C.
Flooding has been reported in Clinton County, New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York acknowledged that rain over the past 12 hours has led to dangerous conditions in certain areas. She stated, “I am closely monitoring the situation and have directed my team to assist local officials however necessary.”
Scattered showers will persist throughout Sunday, with the most intense storms expected to begin in Kentucky and Tennessee after 2 p.m. CT. The threat will continue into the evening and overnight as the line of storms moves into the Appalachians.
In Chicago, heavy rain caused delays during the NASCAR Street Race Weekend. NASCAR tweeted, “We are in a holding pattern for the #GrantPark220 until conditions improve.”
On Monday, the storm system is projected to target the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic region, potentially affecting 29 million people in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. NBC News warns of the possibility of damaging winds, large hail, and a few tornadoes.
As the July Fourth holiday approaches, scattered showers and temperatures in the 80s and 90s are expected in the Northeast and Southeast, respectively.
Around 63 million people along the coast remained under heat alerts on Sunday afternoon, including residents of Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Montgomery, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Phoenix, Tucson, Bakersfield, Sacramento, and Portland.
