NYC weather Today is posing a double threat of dangerous heat and severe thunderstorms, with the National Weather Service issuing both a Heat Advisory and active Severe Thunderstorm Warnings covering parts of the region. Heat index values are expected to reach or exceed 95 degrees across much of the area, while fast moving storm cells are already producing 60 mph wind gusts, large hail and damaging lightning through the afternoon and evening hours.
The NYC weather system comes one day after Friday’s storms knocked down a utility pole in the Bronx and sent water pouring into a Brooklyn movie theater, meaning the ground and drainage systems in many areas are already saturated heading into Today’s activity.
How severe is Today’s NYC weather storm threat right now
As of this afternoon, NWS Albany issued an active Severe Thunderstorm Warning covering northeastern Ulster, northern Dutchess and southwestern Columbia counties in New York, as well as northwestern Litchfield County in Connecticut, in effect until 5:30 p.m. EDT. A severe thunderstorm was located over Red Hook near Rhinebeck, moving east at 25 mph. The primary hazard is 60 mph wind gusts confirmed by radar, along with large hail and dangerous lightning. Residents in those counties should move to interior rooms on lower floors immediately and stay indoors until the warning expires.
A broader Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains active through 8 p.m. Today for portions of northern New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley and parts of Upstate New York including Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie and Ulster counties. The NYC weather concern extends well beyond the five boroughs, with the entire northeast corridor facing an unsettled and dangerous afternoon…