We're Not Out of the Woods Yet!
By Erica Grow on August 5, 2012, 7:42pm
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Northern Connecticut has already seen a line of thunderstorms move through this afternoon, producing severe weather in a couple locations in our state. As a reminder, severe thunderstorms contain winds in excess of 58mph and/or 1" hail or larger. The National Weather Service was consistently reporting 60mph wind gusts with the thunderstorms as they moved from west to east. Now that the first line of storms is through, the entire state needs to brace for another line of heavy thunderstorm activity.
The storms, which are approaching Litchfield and Fairfield counties right now, also contain 60mph wind gusts. However, these storms are moving pretty slowly at about 25mph, so the heavy rain from this line could produce flash flooding. In fact, there is a Flash Flood Watch in effect for Hartford, northern New Haven, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties through the overnight hours. A flash flood happens when the rainfall is so intense in a short period of time that the normal drainage devices (storm sewers, creeks, etc) don't have time to get rid of the extra water. Since the rain is expected to be intense during the overnight hours, the risk is especially high tonight for drivers, who will need to be extra vigilant on roadways that are covered in water. My best advice is to turn around and find a different route, because you have no way of knowing how deep the water is before you drive in!
The models are in consensus that this line of storms, and the next one that moves through overnight, will clear out by 12Z Monday morning (8am). All activity will be in the Atlantic Ocean by then, according to the grids. This means that it won't be raining during the rush hour, but there might be some lingering flooding issues, so give yourself some extra time to get to work tomorrow morning!
You can get a live look at the radar by visiting the weather page on wtnh.com.
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