As a search for the second suspect involved in the Boston Marathon bombings terrorizes Boston, another imminent threat is approaches just several hundred miles south. Storm forecasters issued a tornado watch for Central Maryland through 10 p.m. Friday, April 19. As a line of storms with conditions potentially conducive for funnel clouds, meteorologists are wary of its trajectory toward Baltimore.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. expects that the storms that have ravaged the Midwest to reach the East Coast Friday afternoon and evening. The mid-Atlantic region is "conducive for both damaging winds and a tornado threat." The conditions could "prove favorable for storms to become organized with the potential for supercells," the forecasters wrote.
The tornado watch extends from the Potomac River to the Mason-Dixon Line, from Hagerstown to the Eastern Shore. The watch includes metropolitan Baltimore and its surrounding counties.
Rain accompanied by severe gusts of wind is beginning to encroach on Western Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia while the worst is on its way. Forecasters call for 100 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms. The region could experience up to an inch of rainfall.
Tornado watches are also in effect for the Piedmont regions of the Carolinas as of 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. The Charlotte region could also experience rain storms through early evening as a cold front pushes across the area. The primary threat will be damaging winds, while small hail, heavy rain and frequent lightning will be likely. The storm will reach its peak between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. according to the First Warn Storm Team.
Yesterday, a tornado watch had been in effect for Genesse County, Michigan as well as three dozen other counties. The National Weather Service lifted the watch last night, however, a flood watch remained in effect until Friday morning.
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