Strong, severe storms possible this afternoon west of NYC
Hazy, hot and humid air has settled into the region this afternoon as southerly winds pump in the warmth thanks to mid level ridging. Back to our west-northwest, an energetic disturbance is ejecting northeastward through the Ohio Valley. Increased lift and forcing is helping to force the development of thunderstorms within an unstable environment, leading to the threat of widespread severe weather over Pennsylvania and New York State. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Risk for severe weather in those areas through this evening.
Why is this threat developing?
There are many pieces at play, but the main culprits are most definitely the Western Atlantic Ridge (actually centered near Bermuda at this point) and the incoming energetic trough. The combination of the two is leading to increased instability, strong forcing for thunderstorms, and sufficient wind shear for storm organization. Figure 1 (below) shows a four panel model image from this afternoons 12z NAM model. On the top left, the model is producing precipitation along elongated height falls from the system to our northwest. On the top right, very warm air at 850mb has advanced into the region with temperatures over 18 C. Finally, the bottom two panels show the energetic pattern at 500 and 300 mb.