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Philadelphia Weather: Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware Under Slight Risk For Severe Weather As Memorial Day Weekend Begins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Memorial Day Weekend has arrived, but one thing that could throw a wrench in those plans is the threat for scattered severe storms on Friday afternoon. Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware are under a slight risk for severe weather to start the holiday weekend.

The system will lift through the region on Friday, ushering in an antecedent south wind.

This warmer flow will destabilize the atmosphere ahead of a line of storms that will progress through central Pennsylvania during the midday hours and reach our area by mid to late afternoon.

Philadelphia Weather: Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware Under Slight Risk For Severe Weather As Memorial Day Weekend Begins

The timing of the line of storms looks to be between late Friday afternoon into the evening. Storms will hit the Lehigh Valley around 2 p.m., the Philly area between 4 p.m.  and 6 p.m., and South Jersey between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The storm could lead to downed trees, powerlines, isolated outages, and a slow evening commute. There's also a chance for isolated tornadoes.

The storms appear to be widely scattered, however, any one of these cells or clusters of cells has the potential to produce damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph. The storms also appear to be rather slow-moving, leading to the risk of flooding in areas that sit under a period of heavy rainfall.

Philadelphia Weather: Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware Under Slight Risk For Severe Weather As Memorial Day Weekend Begins

A Flash Flood Watch will go into effect at 1 p.m. for southeastern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley and parts of Delaware. It will be in effect through midnight. The area will see 1 to 2 inches of rain due to Friday's storms.

Low pressure will still be overhead on Saturday, leading to the chance for a few spotty showers or thundershowers, but the threat for severe weather looks very low, and then sunshine returns for the remainder of the holiday weekend with temperatures warming each day.

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