The Storm Prediction Center says that there’s an elevated risk for tornadoes around Washington D.C. and Baltimore this afternoon. Keep a close eye on watches and warnings today, and make sure you have a plan to take quick, adequate shelter either at home or if you’re out somewhere. Avoid box stores if storms are looming on the horizon.

You can swim through the air on the East Coast this afternoon. It’s a typical hot, muggy summer afternoon, and an approaching cold front is allowing this soupy air to explode skyward and trigger some nasty thunderstorms. It looks like the storms will arrive in the megalopolis just in time for rush hour, of course.

Major flooding is ongoing near Baltimore this afternoon after areas south of town have seen more than seven inches of rain in a short period of time, and amounts could approach ten inches before the storms stop. A similar situation unfolded in Detroit last night.