Extreme heat fuels threats for severe weather in Northeast, Plains

NEW YORK – Severe weather that has rippled across the Midwest this week is shifting to the Northeast as extreme heat fuels it all.The FOX Forecast Center also blames a cold front for the storms that will advance toward the East Coast on Wednesday. New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are just a few of the cities at risk later in the day. HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERNearly 28 million people from the Ohio Valley to the northern mid-Atlantic coast are under a Level 2 out of 5 threat on the SPC’s 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale. Damaging winds and large hail will be the primary concerns with any thunderstorms that develop.DOWNLOAD THE FREE FOX WEATHER APPThe FOX Forecast Center said they will also carefully monitor any slow-moving storms that also develop, as the risk for flash flooding will increase in the region due to recent rain events.As the extreme heat also shifts into the Northeast, it will be another factor in Wednesday’s severe weather threat. By the afternoon, major cities will be feeling like 100-plus-degrees. Numerous record highs are forecast to fall across a half-dozen states.A heat advisory went into effect at 11 a.m. for New York City, and nearly all of New Jersey will be under at least a heat advisory, with temperatures topping 90 degrees and heat indices soaring into the triple digits.Farther west, where the heat was also intense, a Tornado Watch was issued for the Dakotas through the late evening.Forecasters said the development of supercells could create the threats for large hail and damaging winds, in addition to the tornado threat.Both Bismark, North Dakota, and Pierre, South Dakota, were included in the initial Tornado Watch.