Northeast endures ‘weather bomb’ rain

Front barrels in on 5th anniversary of Sandy

A cold front pulling enormous amounts of moisture from Tropical Storm Philippe roared across the Northeast with near “weather bomb” conditions Sunday, as heavy rains and high winds marked the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s devastating landfall in the region.

A “healthy number of weather stations” from Virginia to Maine will see 3-5 inches of rain or more by late Monday, AccuWeather meteorologist Evan Duffey told USA TODAY. Some coastal areas will have wind gusts of 70 mph or more, he said.

A weather bomb — or bombogenesis — takes place when a storm intensifies rapidly, generally due to the collision of a cold continental air mass with warm air from over the ocean.

“There will probably not be quite enough of a pressure drop to technically qualify this as bombogenesis, but we are seeing a lot of the same things,” Duffey said. “The storm is eating Philippe’s moisture, and it’s strengthening.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state emergency officials have been preparing, clearing debris away from culverts.

“I urge New Yorkers to stay tuned to local weather forecasts and plan their travel accordingly to avoid potentially flooded roads and downed wires,” Cuomo said.

Not all the weather news was bad. Duffey said almost two-thirds of the region is abnormally dry, with 12% in a moderate drought. More than 80% of Connecticut was listed as in moderate drought, he said.

“They can use the rain,” he said.