US East coast could be hit by storm this week – flooding possible

Added by Elivia DeVries on November 5, 2012

Residents of the US East cost, recovering from last weeks storm Sandy, are bracing for the arrival of another storm by Wednesday and lasting into Thursday.

“The new storm will be intense, but not as severe as Sandy. There’s the possibility that windows up to 46 mph could bring down trees that were battered by Sandy, which could lead to localized power outages in case the fallen trees take down power lines,” said a forecaster.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) reports a storm forecast to arrive along the eastern seaboard Wednesday night and continue through Thursday.

The storm’s track is expected through North Carolina and northward to the lower eastern shore of Maryland and features winds with gusts up to 74 km/h (46 mph).

Small craft warnings are already in effect in the waters off North Carolina – the NWS expects the storm to peak Wednesday into Wednesday night with rain, 1.5-1.8m waves (5-6 ft), rain, and northwest winds up to 74 km/h (46 mph) – coastal flooding is possible.

As the storm moves up the coast towards the lower eastern shore of Maryland northwest winds will be between 45 and 54 km/h (28-34mph) with rain likely. The storm is expected to subside by Thursday nigh.

Foresters initially said the storm’s track was uncertain, yet said confidence in the forecasts accuracy continues to increase.

At the same time, high winds are predicted for the the great lakes area, including Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, with waves up to 3.6m (12 ft) and the possibility of snow.

A National Weather Service meteorologist warned those in the NC area to, “…prepare for more outages, and stay indoors.”