Severe Thunderstorms, Chance of Tornado 'Worrisome'

The Wednesday morning rain should give way to sun, but that also increases the chances of some severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and into the evening, according to Jim Arnold, weather specialist with the Shrewsbury Emergency Management Agency.

"The atmosphere is sufficiently unstable to support severe thunderstorms across a large portion of New England," said Arnold, "and any prolonged sunshine will heat the surface and further destabilize the air column."

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) of the National Weather Service placed most of southern New England in an area with a 15 percent chance of hail and surface winds reaching severe limits in afternoon thunderstorms, Arnold said. 

"What is particularly worrisome is that they also have given our area a 5 percent chance of a tornado this afternoon," said Arnold. "When we see a 2 percent chance of a tornado, that represents one chance in 50…when we see a 5 percent chance, that increases to one chance in 20. Five percent is still a low percentage, but significantly more than zero." 

The bout of thunderstorms should move toward a period of hazy, hot and humid weather to carry through the weekend, said Arnold. Temperatures will hit the upper 80s and mid 90s, which results in not only heat, but scattered afternoon thunderstorms daily.