Flash flood and tornado watches issued for over 32 million people along the I-95 corridor

The National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction Center have issued flash-flood warnings for an estimated 32 million people along the Interstate-95 corridor from southern Connecticut to Virginia, including the New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore metropolitan areas. A Level 3-4 flood risk applies to central and northern New Jersey and New York City for Thursday afternoon, with rainfall rates expected to reach up to two inches per hour.

A tornado watch covers roughly 15 million residents across parts of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia and remains in effect until 10 p.m. ET. The watch follows earlier severe-weather events that affected Arkansas, Kentucky and Indiana, where power outages and a tornado warning were reported.

The forecasters attribute the threat to a cold front moving east from the Ohio Valley, which is expected to stall over the Northeast coast and the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday evening. The stalled front could generate additional storms on Friday, extending the flood risk southward into the Delmarva region and central South Carolina.

"A Flood Watch has now been extended farther to the north to include New York City and continues for most of New Jersey and far southeast Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia," the FOX Forecast Center said.

"Intense rain rates and downpours over already saturated soils could lead to flooding as well as urbanized flooding in Philadelphia and New York City," the center added.

Rainfall totals of two to three inches are forecast from North Carolina northward to coastal New Jersey, with localized amounts of three to five inches possible. The agencies indicated that the flash-flood risk could be upgraded if the projected precipitation materializes.