New York City, Northeast face severe weather threat with damaging wind gusts on Wednesday

Severe weather is possible in the Northeast from New York City to the Boston area Wednesday as an area of low pressure that brought beneficial rain to the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley continues its trek across the region.

Millions of people along the I-95 corridor from the New York City area up through New Haven,?Connecticut, Providence,?Rhode Island,?and Boston are at risk of seeing severe thunderstorms Wednesday.

The threat also extends inland, with cities such as Yonkers, Newburgh, Kingston and Albany in New York, Hartford in Connecticut and Springfield and Worcester in Massachusetts at risk of seeing turbulent weather.

The Fox Forecast Center believes that the main risk from any severe?thunderstorms?that do develop Wednesday afternoon will primarily be damaging?wind?gusts over 60 mph. However, there is also the chance that some storms could produce?hail, deadly?lightning?and heavy rain.

As we head into Wednesday afternoon, the bulk of the activity will be found across eastern Pennsylvania and central New York, with rain falling in New Jersey and approaching New York City.

Rain and thunderstorm activity will expand to the east between 3 and 6 p.m. as it pushes through areas of the Hudson Valley in New York, as well as the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The heavier rain and stronger storms will push through the Worcester Hills and the Boston area as we head into Wednesday evening.

It’s been a soggy few days for millions of people from the Great Lakes region to the Northeast as the storm system pushed through the region. While there weren’t any blockbuster rain totals, it may have helped to put a small dent in the drought situation in the area.

Going forward, the Fox Forecast Center expects most areas of the Northeast can expect to see around a half-inch to an inch of rain. However, where the heavier bands of showers and storms set up, rain totals between 1 and 2 inches are possible — most likely across New York state and areas of New England.