Urgent 1,000-mile tornado watch across East Coast as violent storms threaten millions TONIGHT
A massive tornado alert was issued Monday stretching more than 1,000 miles along the U.S. East Coast as a dangerous storm system moved north.
Meteorologists warned that the spreading outbreak could cause tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail as the system wreaked havoc across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
More than 35 million people are under hurricane watches from the Florida Panhandle to Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and parts of New York.
The most dangerous period is expected to be from mid-afternoon to early evening, with forecasters warning that the highest hurricane threat in the Mid-Atlantic could occur between 2pm and 7pm ET.
One of the watches covers dozens of counties in eastern Virginia, southeastern Maryland and northeastern North Carolina and remains in effect until approximately 7 p.m. ET.
Other watches extend to central parts of North Carolina and coastal areas of the Southeast, while another covers much of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
Forecasters say storms could quickly intensify as warm, unstable air collides with a powerful weather system moving across the region.
Residents of the observation area are asked to closely monitor warnings and have multiple ways to receive warnings as storms develop.
A massive tornado alert was issued Monday stretching more than 1,000 miles along the U.S. East Coast as a dangerous storm system moved north. Pictured is the monster tornado that hit Indiana last week
More than 35 million people are under hurricane watches from the Florida Panhandle to parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC (PICTURED), Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York
Mayor Muriel Bowser is urging residents to be prepared for severe weather expected to impact the city Monday afternoon.
At the mayor’s direction, the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency activated the District’s Emergency Operations Center to monitor conditions and coordinate response efforts.
Meteorologists warned that storms will start at night and continue from the morning hours.
Expect plenty of tours to revive from late morning through early afternoon.
The storm system is already affecting communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with tornado watches issued for more than 50 counties in Virginia alone.
Areas under surveillance include major population centers such as Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News and Chesapeake, as well as smaller coastal communities along the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
Counties in southeastern Maryland including Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester are also included in the monitoring area.
Further south, tornado watches are expanding across large portions of North Carolina, including counties such as Halifax, Wilson, Edgecombe and Wayne.
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More than 35 million people are under hurricane watches from the Florida Panhandle to Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and parts of New York.
New York is on the verge of a storm
Meteorologists say the threat is not limited to land areas, as tornado watches also include some adjacent coastal waters, such as the Chesapeake Bay, York River and James River, where strong storms could produce waterspouts or high winds.
Other watches in coastal Florida and southern Georgia include counties such as Duval, Nassau and St. Johns in Florida and Camden and Glynn in Georgia.
The large geographic footprint reflects the strength and scale of the storm system as it spreads northward along the East Coast, Storm Prediction Center officials said.
In Pennsylvania, tornado watches extend to central counties like Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York, and put cities like Harrisburg and Lancaster on alert until 7 p.m. ET.
New Jersey counties, including Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Ocean and Monmouth, and Delaware counties, including New Castle, Kent and Sussex, are also under the same oversight.
Parts of the US, such as Maryland (PICTURED), are already seeing storms
Forecasters warned that the greatest risk would occur in the late afternoon as storms intensify and move northeastward.
Unstable air mass interacting with strong upper-level winds can allow rotating storms to form, increasing the likelihood of tornado development.
In addition to tornadoes, storms can produce strong winds that can knock down trees and power lines.
Emergency officials said residents should take watches seriously and be prepared to seek shelter quickly if warnings are issued.
Tornado watches mean conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form, while tornado warnings indicate that a tornado has been detected or detected on radar.
The severe weather threat is expected to gradually weaken later Monday evening as the storm system moves north and east.
But forecasters warned that some strong storms could linger through the night before the system finally moves offshore. Until then, millions of residents on the East Coast will remain alert to rapidly changing and potentially dangerous weather conditions.
