More nasty weather – including thunder, heavy rain, high winds and hazardous rip currents — is headed into the New York area Friday. Most of New Jersey is under a tornado watch.
Remnants of tropical storm Debby will be throwing wind and water up throughout the Northeast, bringing hazardous conditions and giving the region the fourth straight day of rain and rough weather.
The NYC Office of Emergency Management has issued a travel advisory for the city for the whole day Friday, with 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour, possible and peak wind gusts of up to 50 mph. New York City is also under a wind advisory and a hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service.
Seventeen New Jersey counties — including Hunterdon, Essex Morris, Middlesex, Somerset, Union, Passaic Warren and Essex — are being advised to watch out for possible tornadoes until 2 p.m. A tornado watch means weather conditions hold the potential for a tornado; a more urgent tornado warning would mean one had been spotted or seems imminent.
“It’s due to the remnants of the tropical system. There’s kind of some turning of the winds as you get through the layer of the atmosphere,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Connolly, adding that these are not the same conditions that lead to twisters on the plains out west.
Other potential threats Friday include a chance of flooding, particularly north of the city in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange counties, as well as high surfs and dangerous rip currents at city beaches.
“There’s also a high surf advisory, because we’re expecting waves 5 to 10 feet at the ocean,” Connolly said.
The risk of river flooding remains low for the New York metro area, Connolly said, with more concern further west where more intense heavy rain is forecasted.
The city Office of Emergency Management said it will not be deploying drones that warn residents in flood-prone areas to take precautions on Friday, since the risk appeared to be lower than it was earlier in the week. City officials apologized this week, after the drones garbled their Spanish on their first outing.
The bulk of the bad weather is expected to pass through the New York region Friday afternoon into the evening, with temperatures in the low 80s. The sun should come back over the weekend, with clear skies forecasted and temperatures in the mid to low 80s.