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Millions of people are at risk from flooding — some of it “life-threatening” — as more heavy rain is expected to hit large parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic this week.
An area stretching 670 miles from central New York to South Carolina was under flash flood watches or other related weather warnings Tuesday morning.
Cities including Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia — areas already saturated after heavy rain over the weekend — are all expected to be among the wettest this week.
The National Weather Service said five inches of rain could fall between Monday and Thursday, triggering “potentially dangerous, even life-threatening” floods in the mid-Atlantic region.
“Showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase in coverage and intensity early today,” the agency said Tuesday. “This pattern will remain in place through Wednesday, with multiple rounds of torrential rainfall possible. Given saturated soil from this weekend`s rainfall, repetitive heavy rain may result in flash flooding.”
The weekend’s storms broke rainfall records in Virginia and Maryland, saturating the soil, closing roads and sparking several water rescues.
On Monday, parts of Pennsylvania saw flash flooding, with one borough declaring a disaster emergency and Hershey Park, a theme park near Harrisburg, forced to close its doors.
The rain is forecast to shift to parts of New England on Wednesday before a cold front clears it out Thursday.