According to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, strong and damaging wind gusts between 40-50 mph may happen around midday and could affect the Northeast states where emergency field hospitals have been set up in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The wind gusts will be felt along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, DC, to New York City. More than 70 million are asked to prepare for the severe weather condition. Janice Dean, a meteorologist, stated that power outages in big cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and DC are to be expected.
The said power interruption could pose a huge threat to New York where a field hospital that is full of tents has been set up in Central Park for the increasing number of coronavirus patients.
Harsh weather amid the pandemic
New York City is the epicenter for the virus in America as there are now more than 80,000 coronavirus cases and more than 4,000 deaths. Thousands of utility customers in Pennsylvania were already without power since April 16, a day after severe thunderstorms spawned two small tornadoes.
The storms came through on the morning of April 15 and tore the roofs off of a church and a brewery in New Kensington and blew away a hangar at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. In Vermont and New Hampshire, a late-season storm is bringing the possibility of snow.
The storm will intensify in the afternoon of April 23 and it will bring rain along the coast and snow in western and northern Main, according to Derek Schroeter from the National Weather Service in Gray. Once the storm begins, travel will be hazardous.
Meanwhile, the midcoast and eastern Maine will be lashed by winds gusting to upward of 50mph, Schroeter said. Central Maine Power of CMP is urging its customers to be prepared for power outages. The company has 80 CMP line crews, 85 contract crews, and 100 tree crews ready to respond, according to officials.
Schroeter stated that they are also concerned about coastal flooding. The storm should be winding down by mid-morning on April 24. In the south, severe thunderstorms with massive hail and damaging wind gusts are expected from the Hill Country into the south and southeast Texas on April 22.
Possible tornadoes
Weather forecasters also warned of severe weather outbreak with the possibility of strong tornadoes in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Severe storms with high winds, hail, and tornadoes caused damage to dozens of businesses and homes in the Midwest, such as in Arkansas and Indiana two weeks ago. In central Indiana, bricks were scattered along the town's main downtown thoroughfare and traffic was blocked by debris, a few injuries were also reported.
According to Police Officer Brock A. Chipman, the storm knocked the second story off a two-story vacant building, and one woman was slightly injured after the power lines fell on her car. The stay-at-home order in Indiana will likely keep people out of danger as the storms move through.
Division Chief John Robinson of the Mooresville Fire Department stated that they are ready for any possible damages on properties that the storm may cause.
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