Easter Week Severe Storms Threaten Millions in Ohio Valley, Northeast on Monday

A fast-moving cold front is heading across the Ohio Valley on Monday, and parts of the area are preparing for rain and the possibility of severe weather to begin Easter week.

From Monday through early Tuesday, cities in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania are at increased risk of severe storms.

According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC), Monday’s severe thunderstorms might affect over 28 million people in the area. However, on its 5-point severe thunderstorm danger scale, the SPC rated almost 9 million people from Kentucky to Pennsylvania as being at Level 2 risk.

Cities in the danger zone include Lexington, Kentucky; Charleston, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. Although tornadoes are a possibility, forecasters warn destructive winds and giant hail will be the main risks.

Any thunderstorm that forms can create periods of intense rainfall, frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, and severe weather hazards. Localized totals of one to two inches of precipitation are still likely, but the front is predicted to pass swiftly, limiting overall accumulations.

The heightened risk of rain coincides with several rivers in the area already overflowing, and some—such as those along the Ohio and Kentucky rivers—are still feeling the effects of recent flooding.

The Ohio River in Cincinnati surged more than 60 feet, the most significant level since at least 2018. To safeguard low-lying regions, floodgates were activated, and riverside parks and roads were temporarily closed.

In Princeton, Indiana, further to the west, cleaning work is ongoing after an EF-1 tornado landed on Thursday. The storm destroyed numerous homes, and the area expects further storms and rains, which might make rehabilitation more difficult.

According to FOX Weather Meteorologist Steve Bender, “that cold front is going to create enough heat and instability in the atmosphere to support strong storms that will intensify through the afternoon and persist into the evening.” “This implies that locations like Charleston, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh may be at risk for severe weather at night, which is always more dangerous.”

The weather pattern for the rest of the holiday week is still unpredictable once the cold front has passed. Additional weak frontal boundaries may reach the area, according to some computer prediction models. Still, they are not anticipated to produce widespread rainfall because of a lack of moisture and instability.

Most of the week, temperatures in the Ohio Valley are predicted to be below normal. Highs in many places will be several degrees below seasonal norms, even though mid-April usually sees highs in the mid- to upper 60s.