Hail, damaging winds, possible tornadoes threaten Charlotte area. Here’s the latest.
The Charlotte area can expect another round of severe storms on Sunday, including hail, damaging winds and a small risk of tornadoes, the National Weather Service reported Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, a strong cell of storms dumped quarter- to half-dollar-sized hail on northern Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties Saturday afternoon, NWS meteorologist Robbie Munroe said.
Several severe storms hit areas north of Mecklenburg County, arriving from Tennessee and the North Carolina mountains.
About 4,800 Duke Energy customers remained without power in North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, including 1,100 in Gaston County and 400 in Mecklenburg, according to the company’s outage map.
The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings Saturday afternoon for areas from McDowell and Burke counties in the mountains to Davie County east of Statesville.
A warning means radar spotted such storms.
Mecklenburg and surrounding counties remained under a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 p.m. Saturday, meaning such storms were possible.
The NWS office in Greer, S.C., warned of winds up to 60 mph and hail the size of quarters, but no damage was immediately reported.
In a hazardous weather outlook bulletin just before 5:30 a.m. Saturday, the Greer office said “scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms were expected to develop across the area today as a warm front lifts north through the region.
“A few storms may become severe, with the main threats being damaging wind gusts and large hail to the size of quarters,” according to the bulletin.
The NWS warned of a tornado threat mainly south of Interstate 40 in the Charlotte area.
Severe weather risk Sunday
The greater threat of severe weather for the Charlotte area is expected between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Wilkinson said.
“Sunday has a much higher risk for a line of storms to move through the area,” he said. “Some could be severe.”
Sunday’s storms would arrive in the Carolinas from Georgia and the Mississippi Valley, according to the NWS. Storms are forecast to hit the Charlotte area late Sunday afternoon and early evening, NWS forecasters said.
In Saturday’s hazardous weather outlook bulletin, the NWS said “damaging winds will be the main threat” on Sunday, “but a few storms may produce large hail as well.”
Highs of 76 and 78 are forecast for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in Charlotte before dropping to 63 degrees under sunny skies on Monday. There is a 50% chance of rain returning Tuesday, according to the NWS.
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 10:09 AM.