Meteorologists are warning New Yorkers to batten down the hatches tas strong thunderstorms are forecasted to bring rain, wind and even hail to the city.
Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be fairly pleasant, with warm temps, sunshine and occasional forecasts of rain from Friday through Monday. But before we get there, some strange weather could be in store for the city and the region Thursday afternoon.
“If you see the sky start to look threatening off to the west as you’re looking out across the Hudson, you might want to think about getting indoors,” said meteorologist Bill Goodman from the National Weather Service.
The peak of the action should be anywhere from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., as a line of storms roll northeast from Pennsylvania.
Goodman urged New Yorkers to be careful going about their daily business in the thick of the bad weather.
“Some of these storms have frequent lightning too. So that’s probably the biggest concern – you know, that this thing’s hitting late morning and exiting right close to lunchtime,” he said.
Another concern, Goodman said, is the nickel-sized hail that could accompany some of the storm bursts. Hail is formed when strong updrafts in a thunderstorm keep raindrops suspended for a while in the cold atmosphere, giving ice time to build.
“It gets recycled a few times, stays up there, and then finally becomes too heavy for the updraft to keep,” Goodman said. At that point, if it hasn’t melted already, it falls to the ground.
Gusty winds and up to an inch of intense rain are also in the forecast, with a potential for some flooding in poor drainage areas.
The bulk of the bad weather is expected to taper off in the later afternoon, with a few scattered storms still possible in the evening, Goodman said.
But the holiday weekend should be bright, sunny and warm for the most part: Friday is expected to be dry with highs in the low 80s; Saturday could have a chance of a late day shower with temps in the high 70s; and Sunday should be about the same, according to the National Weather Service.
Memorial Day on Monday will be a bit cooler, from 70 to 75 degrees, with chances of rain increasing throughout the day and a possible thunderstorm.