Tornado Watch: High Winds, Heavy Rain And Thunderstorms Could Impact Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A strong cold front is bringing several threats to our area. A Tornado Watch, Flood Warning and Flash Flood Warning have been issued for the area.
Warm temperatures are surging ahead and a cold front is fueling several weather threats.
Meteorologist Tim Williams says extremely warm temperatures have created conditions conducive to tornadoes through 2 a.m. Gusty winds and sharp changing temperatures will add to the potential for strong thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Winds will steadily increase and will gust 40 mph by late afternoon.
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BGE says it is closely monitoring the approaching weather front. Crews are prepared to respond to potential power outages resulting from the forecasted weather, and the company reminds its customers to take the time now to make preparations.
"Rain, combined with high wind and wind gusts, can weaken trees, bringing whole trees and tree limbs down onto power lines and other electric delivery equipment, and cause outages," BGE vice president and chief customer officer Jeannette M. Mills said in a statement. "The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority, and there are times when it may be unsafe to operate bucket trucks. We appreciate our customers' efforts to prepare in advance for adverse weather and to assist BGE in identifying outage locations by reporting power outages through our recently introduced mobile website at bge.com or our automated phone system at 877.778.2222."
Storms may come through west and east during the afternoon. Damaging wind gusts over 60 mph and downed trees are possible in some areas.
Very humid air will allow for heavy rain. Rainfall of one to three inches is expected Wednesday afternoon and overnight. The cities and the mountains are most likely to see flooding problems through the evening.
Departures from normal tides will continue to rise into Wednesday night, and flooding is possible.
