After a week of warm and sticky weather, New York is expected to be hit by a round of thunderstorms on Friday afternoon that could drag into the evening commute.
While skies will remain sunny for most of the morning, increasing clouds will loom over the city as the day progresses, according to the National Weather Service. The heat and humidity will also stick around, likely through lunchtime, with temperature highs hovering betwwn 80 and 90 degrees until the first wave of storms strike around 2 p.m.
The stormy weather is only expected to ramp up from there, with the most severe conditions forecast to occur sometime between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. During that time, New Yorkers should be prepared for “heavy downpours and potentially damaging winds,” with gusts “in excess of 58 mph,” which could cause downed trees and damaged power lines in addition to scattered power outages, the NWS warned.
There is also the potential for “severe hail” as the strength of the storms increase in the later evening hours.
The wave of storms are forecast to dissipate into showers overnight before the rain stops entirely. Evening temperatures are expected to drop to the low 60s in the city before climbing back into the 80s to kick off the weekend, per Weather Channel forecasts.
City dwellers will finally get their weather reprieve on Saturday, with sunshine set to stay throughout the day — and without the humidity that’s permeated much of the past week. The sun will return for Father’s Day on Sunday, though temperatures will be slightly cooler, around the mid 70s, for much of the day.
But temperatures are expected to climb next week as the area braces for a blistering heat wave.
Gov. Hochul’s office on Thursday issued a warning about the severe weather pattern.
“New Yorkers should take every precaution they can over this next week to stay cool and stay safe as the combination of severe storms, heat, and humidity will pose a significant health risk for vulnerable New Yorkers,” she said. “My administration will be closely monitoring the weather impacts and we encourage New Yorkers to watch the weather forecast closely, stay hydrated, and have a plan if you need to cool off during this time.”
The New York thunderstorms come as Florida continues to get walloped by intense downpours that have so far killed two people and have left major roadways flooded. Much of the Sunshine state — nearly 1.7 million people, including those living in Hialeah, Aventura and Doral — were under flash flood warning Thursday into the overnight hours. Forecasters further warned flooding could occur at a quicker rate than normal, given the grounds are already soggy after days of intense rainfall.
