Cold front brings tornado risk and flash floods to 38 million in the Northeast

After generating storms across the Great Lakes on Wednesday, a sweeping cold front will move east on Thursday, prompting active and severe weather across the Northeast. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast to begin in the afternoon and persist into the evening, with the possibility of supercells, damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes. Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York City face a Level 2 severe-weather threat, while the three metros are also under a Level 1 tornado risk, marking the seventh such designation this year.

More than 38 million people are under the severe-weather alert, and flash-flood watches have been issued for over 25 million residents from Philadelphia to New York City, where localized rain of 1-2 inches is expected. The Storm Prediction Center and one outlet Forecast Center highlighted the unusually high frequency of tornado risk for the region, and lingering storm clouds may obscure the partial lunar eclipse later Thursday night.