Enter Joaquin – A One-Two Punch for the Mid-Atlantic & Northeast

We’ve seen a deluge in areas around the Gulf of Mexico over the past couple of days due to low pressure spinning up a bunch of tropical moisture.

Now all that moisture is lifting to the Northeast over the next 24 hours.

However, that’s not the only moisture streaming in. Tropical storm Joaquin will bring a second surge of moisture and heavy rain to the northeast through Sunday.

Currently, Joaquin is tracking slowly westward. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty in the forecast due to the system in the southeastern US. The way these two interact will have a major impact on the path of this tropical storm. The latest consensus has Joaquin taking a turn to the north by Friday, tracking it into New Jersey/New York by early next week.

As it tracks through the Atlantic, Joaquin appears to gradually strengthen as it heads north. The National Hurricane Center expects it to stay at tropical storm status as it approaches land. In addition to heavy rain, this could mean breezy winds for the eastern seaboard.

There are a lot of uncertainties with the upcoming forecast. However, either way you look at it, a bunch of rain will fall which could lead to localized flooding and flash flooding. The National Weather Service has already issued Flash Flood Watches and Flood Watches stretching from North Carolina to Maine.

For WeatherNation: Meteorologist, Mike Witcher