“Rapid floods, some of them significant and life-threatening, are expected to occur in the late morning and early afternoon when TD Ida approaches the region from the southwest,” the center said. agency weather forecast Wednesday morning.
Areas of greatest concern are northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and eastern West Virginia. An hourly precipitation rate of 2 to 3 inches is expected in the strongest storms, with total amounts of up to 6 inches and heavier isolated amounts possible.
“Emergency flooding impacts due to rapid flooding are possible as we enter the afternoon hours,” the WPC said, referring to the higher level of flood alert that often indicates immediate threats and significant to life and property.
Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane and, although it has weakened significantly since then, heavy rains have still fallen throughout the southeast in a northerly direction.
The WPC has issued the highest alert level (4 out of 4) for excessive rainfall from southern and eastern Pennsylvania to Connecticut.
Northeast straps for possible flooding
Areas that do not normally experience instant flooding will flood. Lives and properties are in great danger until Thursday morning from the mid-Atlantic to the northeast.
“Gulf hurricanes often have a‘ second card to play ’when they reach the northeast,” Miller said.
“The eastern foothills of the Appalachians are vulnerable to flooding due to geography. All the moisture in the Gulf and even the Atlantic is pushed into the mountains by traffic around Ida. The mountains increase rainfall and gravity takes over (and) the water flows down, which can cause major flooding, ”Miller said.
According to the Weather Forecast Center, high-risk days, such as now, are less than 4% of the days of the year. However, high-risk days account for 2 out of 5 flood-related deaths and 9 out of 10 flood-related damages.
We were able to observe rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour within the expected heavy rains, causing rivers to rise rapidly and flood rapidly in urban areas.
A tornado threat to that same region will also continue Wednesday.
New York City is on a level 2 of 5.
New York state agencies are preparing for Ida to be able to cover the state with half a foot or more of rain in some areas as well and by the threat of an isolated tornado.
Agencies are preparing response resources, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday with thousands of teams ready to deploy and a Department of Transportation command center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. the week.
“New York City, Long Island, and areas of the southern Tier, the Mid-Hudson Valley, and the capital district could see up to six inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, as Ida passes through. the area, “the governor’s statement said.
“There is also a possibility of strong storms with gusty winds until early Thursday, as well as the threat of an isolated tornado, especially for the low-lying areas of the state,” the statement said. “Ida is expected to move rapidly to the northeast with rainfall ending in the eastern parts of the state by the end of Thursday.”
Similarities between Hurricanes Ida and Camille
“There are definitely a lot of similarities with Ida and Camille over 50 years ago,” Miller said.
“The two storms formed in the same place, touched near the same place and both have a similar trajectory in the northeast. Camille’s floods in the northeast were deadly.”
Camille first hit the United States as a dangerous Category 5 hurricane off the central Gulf Coast in August 1969.
The storm followed a very similar path to Ida through Tennessee, Kentucky and off the mid-Atlantic coast.
CNN’s Monica Garrett, Judson Jones, Kristina Sgueglia and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.