Hazardous Weather: Powerful Storm To Hit Hudson Valley

The Hudson Valley is in for a big chilly, windy, rainy storm Wednesday and Thursday. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.

And the barometric pressure will plunge. This could create the weather phenomenon known as bombogenesis, Alex Marra and Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather predict.

Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, isn't so sure. "The storm may neither strengthen quickly enough to be classified as a bomb cyclone, nor may there be enough northeasterly winds over a broad for it to be considered a true nor'easter," he said.

Still, they all agree that residents should wrap up outdoor projects and get the playthings and patio furniture in. Keep an eye on storm drains — the high winds and heavy rain will strip leaves from trees. Look out for flash flooding. The NWS says with up to three inches of rain, that is possible along a few of the rivers and streams in the lower Hudson Valley.

The NWS warns:

Between 1 to 3 inches of rainfall, locally higher, is possible Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night with a developing coastal low pressure system. There is a low probability of flash flooding along a few of the fast responding small rivers and streams in Northeastern New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley. Localized flash flooding will also be an issue for low-lying coastal roads if heaviest rain coincides with the Wed Night high tides.

This should start midday Wednesday, forecasters say.

Commuters be wary of leaf-plastered roads. "The wet pavement can make for especially slick conditions on secondary roads," said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist.

Here's the day-by-day from the NWS:

• Tonight-Mostly clear, with a low around 44. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
• Wednesday-Rain likely, mainly after 2pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
• Wednesday Night-Rain, mainly before 2am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 48. East wind 8 to 16 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
• Thursday-A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
• Thursday Night-Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.
• Friday-Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

This is a developing storm. Check back with Patch for updates.