Severe storms with damaging straight-line winds are expected in the Charlotte region on Wednesday, with a chance of hail “larger than golf balls,” according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado or two “cannot be ruled out,” according to a severe weather alert by the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, at 5:46 a.m. Wednesday.
The tornado threat “is low, but it’s not zero,” NWS meteorologist Doug Outlaw told The Charlotte Observer Wednesday morning. “But the main threat for Charlotte will be straight-line wind damage.”
Charlotte has a slight risk of tornadoes from 4 p.m. until about midnight, Outlaw said. The chance of straight-line wind damage, however, has increased since Tuesday night, he said.
The warning area includes Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, the Carolinas mountains, Upstate South Carolina and the N.C. foothills.
“Areas that receive multiple rounds of storms will see a threat for excessive rainfall and flash flooding, especially (Wednesday night),” according to the weather service bulletin.
Overnight storms
More bad weather is expected overnight, according to the weather service hazardous weather outlook bulletin.
“A complex of strong to severe storms is then expected to move across the area overnight into early Thursday,” according to the alert. “This system will pose a threat for more widespread strong to damaging wind gusts and perhaps a brief tornado.
The threat continues through Thursday, meteorologists said in the alert.
“Scattered storms could redevelop Thursday afternoon, potentially posing another threat of isolated severe weather and locally heavy rainfall,” according to the NWS bulletin.
Weather system spawned deadly tornado
Storms are expected to move into the North Carolina mountains late this afternoon from the west and northwest, Outlaw said.
The storms are part of a severe weather system that spawned a deadly tornado in Oklahoma on Tuesday, he said, although the system is losing strength on its eastward trek.
“The energy from that system is spreading out and slowly dissipating,” he said.
Still, the system will be strong enough to bring damaging winds to the Carolinas, Outlaw said. Storms are expected across Upstate South Carolina and much of North Carolina, he said.
The severe weather system hovered along the Tennessee-Kentucky border Wednesday morning and from Nashville to southern Missouri, Outlaw said.
Charlotte forecast
Showers are likely in Charlotte after 5 p.m. Wednesday, with a thunderstorm possible, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Skies should be partly sunny, with the high near 91 degrees, the forecast showed.
Showers have a 40% chance of continuing overnight, and a 70% chance of persisting most of Thursday, NWS meteorologists said.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible again after 2 p.m. Friday, with sunny to mostly sunny skies predicted Saturday through Tuesday, the forecast showed.
The NWS predicts highs to drop to 86 on Thursday, 80 on Friday and 75 on Saturday, before increasing to 78 on Sunday and 79 on Monday and Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Isolated severe storms are expected this PM. Large hail will be the main threat. Damaging winds and perhaps a brief tornado are also possible. A complex of strong-to-severe storms is then expected to move across the area tonight, posing an elevated risk of damaging winds. pic.twitter.com/x2fUuLUwcr
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) May 8, 2024
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