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Flooding rain, severe storms for truckers east of the Mississippi

Heaviest rain, worst storms from Midwest to Northeast

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

It’s been a wet week across much of the South, but the flood threat is shifting to other regions the next couple of days.

A cold front will absorb the remnants of Hurricane Nicholas, leading to downpours and severe storms Wednesday and Thursday across the Midwest and Northeast.

Rain amounts

The heaviest rain will probably drench portions of the mid-Atlantic, eastern Great Lakes and the southern and central Appalachians. The National Weather Service has had flash flood watches posted for these areas since early Tuesday. The watches are set to expire around midday Thursday, which is when the NWS expects the rain to taper.

The watches include Detroit and Lansing, Michigan; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Toledo, Ohio; most of Pennsylvania east of Pittsburgh; western Maryland; western Virginia; as well as northwestern North Carolina.


(Map: FreightWaves SONAR Critical Events and radar, Sep. 22, 2021, 8 a.m. ET. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.)

Look for widespread rain totals of 2 to 4 inches across the watch areas, with up to 6 inches in high-terrain locations. 

Repeated rounds of rain and storms will likely result in areas of flash flooding, in addition to potential ramp and road closures. This will be especially true in low-lying regions and areas with poor drainage.

By late Thursday, most of the rain will be moving slowly through New England, possibly lasting into the weekend.

Lanes of concern

• Interstate 69 from Lansing to Fort Wayne.
• Interstate 75 from Flint, Michigan, to just north of Dayton, Ohio.
• Interstate 76 from Somerset, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia.
• Interstate 80/90 from Jamestown, Indiana, to Florence, Ohio.
• Interstate 81 from Marion, Virginia, to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
• U.S. Highway 30 from Fort Wayne to Mansfield, Ohio.


Severe storms

Storms could produce scattered areas of large hail and extremely gusty winds Wednesday in parts of West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. A few isolated tornadoes could also develop.

The severe weather risk includes Youngstown, Ohio; Wheeling, Clarskburg, Morgantown and Elkins, West Virginia; as well as the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

Lanes of concern

• Interstate 68 from Morgantown to Piney Grove, Maryland.
• Interstate 70 from Cambridge, Ohio, to Somerset.
• Interstate 79 from Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Sutton, West Virginia.
• Interstate 80 from Windham, Ohio, to Brookville, Pennsylvania.
• Interstate 95 from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Philadelphia.
• Interstate 376 from West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.