Heavy rains and severe thunderstorms may bring more flooding to the East Coast on Aug. 1 afterdownpours struck parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Flash and urban flooding are possible in the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England through the night before the storms move across the country this weekend. Showers and thunderstorms will then bring heavy rain to parts of the East Coast and the Southern Plains region through the morning of Aug. 2, creating "localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas being the most vulnerable,"the National Weather Service said. Severe thunderstorms are also expected to strike parts of the Northern and Central High Plains regions, bringing frequent lightning, wind gusts, hail and occasional tornadoes. Storms are expected to dump heavy rainfall onto parts of the Central and Southern High Plains as well as the Southeast through the morning of Aug 3. Hard rain and flash floodingstarted arriving by early afternoon on July 31, with scattered reports of flooded roads and stranded cars in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York City. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey's Acting Gov. Tahesha Way bothdeclared a state of emergency. Emergency management officials in New York City urged residents to avoid travel through Friday afternoon. Stormy weather appeared to be the cause of travel disruption across the region. At least 1,170 flights were cancelled and hundreds more were delayed at the eight major airports serving the region - Washington Dulles, Baltimore-Washington, Ronald Reagan Washington National, Philadelphia, Newark Liberty, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Boston Logan - according to online flight tracking service FlightAware. Amtrak suspended rail servicebetween Philadelphia and Wilmington for about two hours after the severe storms flooded the tracks. "Residual delays" were expected as the water receded, Amtrak said on X. Though temperaturesare expected to be 5 to 10 degrees below normalin the East by the weekend, heat advisories are being put in place for parts of the Gulf Coast and southeastern United States due to high temperatures and high humidity.The National Weather Service warnedan extended period of extreme heat and with little relief overnight can cause heat stress. "As temperatures rise, plan to limit outdoor activities, stay hydrated, and ensure access to air conditioning and other cooling areas," the weather service said. "Additionally, be sure to check on vulnerable family members, friends, and neighbors." Contributing: Reuters;Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Weather forecast calls for more dangerous threats across the U.S.
