Potent weekend storm to lash East Coast with rain, wind, flooding

A potent storm will lash the East Coast Saturday into Monday, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and possible flooding all the way from Florida to Maine.

Florida will bear the brunt of the storm Saturday afternoon before the bad weather moves up the coast Sunday, forecasters said. By Sunday, slow travel will be likely along portions of the East Coast due to flooded roads, airline delays and flight cancellations, AccuWeather predicted. 

Fortunately, the one ingredient that's missing in the storm is cold air, which means heavy snow won't be a factor for most areas.

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Bad weather in Florida: Stormy sunshine state

With Saturday afternoon into evening expected to be stormy over most of Florida, outdoor holiday parties have been canceled and outside decorations that aren’t battened down might just blow away, the Associated Press said.

Strong thunderstorms could rumble across much of Florida Saturday afternoon into Saturday night, AccuWeather said. Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville could all experience damaging storms.

Flordia Gov. Ron DeSantis activated the Florida State Guard on Friday. 

The Storm Prediction Center said "strong thunderstorms may impact the Florida Peninsula and Keys Saturday night, with a few possibly becoming severe and posing a risk for tornadoes and damaging wind gusts."

In Volusia County, emergency management director Jim Judge urged local residents to make sure Christmas decorations were secured for the storm.

“Just take the normal precautions you would have with a tropical storm, and even though we’re not looking at anything near that way, if you take those precautions, then you’ll be able to weather this event,” Judge said.

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Soggy Sunday 

Rain will be heavy, potentially record-breaking in some areas on Sunday, the National Weather Service said: "The latest rainfall forecast from the Weather Prediction Center through Sunday evening shows the potential for widespread 2-4 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts especially along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts, increasing the threat for flooding and flash flooding.

"Some of these rainfall amounts could also approach or exceed daily rainfall records for mid-December," the weather service said. 

Wind also an issue

Along the Carolinas and farther north along the coast in the mid-Atlantic and New England, wind gusts will range between 40 and 60 mph, resulting in power outages across the area from Sunday to Monday, AccuWeather warned.

Beach erosion will occur, and some damage to dunes and other beach structures is possible.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: East Coast storm expected over the weekend