While the weather news was focused on Hurricane Dolly yesterday, a perfect rainmaker was developing across the Northeastern States. A cold front, stretching from the mid Atlantic region into New England, was attached to a potent but slow moving storm system, centered just north and east of the Great Lakes.
In concert, high pressure off the mid Atlantic coast was pushing in copious moisture from the ocean, including the tropical remnants of Cristobal. Encountering the cold front, this warm, saturated air was forced to rise, producing a chain of heavy thunderstorms along the front, which crept slowly to the east. Some storms dropped rain at rates of 3-4 inches per hour, triggering flash floods throughout the region.
This morning, the front was hugging the eastern shore, from Philadelphia to Boston, producing travel nightmares across the most populated swath of our country. Though Dolly is more powerful and destructive, the Northeast storm is likely to have a greater impact.
