Severe thunderstorm watch in NYC area, flooding possible, heat advisory continues
NEW YORK - New York City and the surrounding area are under a severe thunderstorm watch with scattered storms arriving Friday afternoon and evening.
What we know:
The National Weather Service issued the alert for multiple counties in the New York metro area effective until 9 p.m. Friday.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms could lead to damaging wind gusts and flash flooding, the NWS said.
Timeline:
Storms will likely begin forming in the Tri-State Area after 2 p.m., with the greatest chance from 4 p.m. on.
FOX 5 NY meteorologist Mike Woods said there was a 50-60% chance of storms in the Tri-State Area beginning Friday afternoon.
The area is under a "Level 2 risk" for strong-to-severe storms, which means larger areas could be impacted, Woods said.
Dig deeper:
Friday's storm risk comes in the middle of a long hot and humid stretch for the New York City area, including Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The entire region is under a heat advisory until 8 p.m., with the heat index approaching 95 in the city.
An air quality alert is also in effect until 11 p.m. with concern about high levels of ozone build up.
Central Park registered a moderate Air Quality Index of 55 at noon, but AQI could reach unhealthy levels later in the day because of the heat and humidity.
The Source: This includes forecasting from the FOX 5 NY weather team.