Heavy rain, gusty winds and even hail might impact New Year’s Eve festivities in the Lehigh Valley.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said Tuesday will be dry for most of the day until moderate to heavy showers come to the area in the evening hours.
Thunder, gusty winds and small hail are possible. Forecasters said showers could hit the area between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Rain should last several hours, the weather service said.
“This will be a quick moving system so the rain should only last several hours at any one location but as mentioned, it will be poorly timed for evening festivities,” forecasters wrote Tuesday morning in their daily forecast discussion.
The Lehigh Valley could get between a half an inch and an inch of rain.
Forecasters said the threat for severe weather is low, but the possibility of hail and damaging winds can’t be ruled out.
Rain should move out of the area overnight. Temperatures should be in the 30s and 40s.
New Year’s Day should be clear, but forecasters said there could be windy conditions. Gusts between 35 and 45 mph are possible. Temperatures are expected to be in the 40s Wednesday.
The rest of the week should be colder, with highs in the 30s.
An area of low pressure is coming to from the west early next week, but guidance is still not clear on what impacts, including timing and any snow, it might have, according to the weather service.
Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday night: Showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m., then a slight chance of showers between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog after midnight. Low around 42. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers after 10 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34.
Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 30.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 31.
Sunday night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
