The National Weather Service upgraded Tropical Storm Arthur to a hurricane early Thursday morning and continued to reiterate its warnings that flash floods could hit the region.
A flash flood watch began for most of the area Thursday morning and will continue into Friday afternoon as Tropical Storm Arthur moves up the east coast.
The cold front, which moved into the region on Wednesday, will become nearly stationary over our area on Thursday, leading to severe weather and potential flooding.
As tropical moisture from Arthur moves north along the cold front, showers and thunderstorms are expected to produce heavy rain Thursday afternoon into early Friday morning. Arthur will make its closest approach to the South Jersey and Delaware coast on Friday though it’s expected to be about 200 to 250 miles offshore.
According to the National Weather Service, thunderstorms Thursday into Friday will likely be slow moving with heavy rainfall. While river flooding is not expected, small stream and urban flooding is possible.
Wind gusts will be another issue during the storm with speeds expected at 35 mph or greater in the Philadelphia area. As for when the rain tapers off, the farther inland you are, the earlier the rain should clear. The Philly area should be dry by the afternoon while the rest of the area should by dry by Friday night, just in time for fireworks.
While Arthur will move out giving way to sunnier skies, its effects will remain as rip currents as well as high surf and seas will be a major threat on Friday into the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be sunny and beautiful with highs in the mid-80's.
Stay with NBC10.com as we continue to track the severe weather.
