Damaging winds could spawn ‘widespread flight restrictions’ in Charlotte, NWS says
Potentially damaging winds could lead to flight delays at Charlotte’s airport on Saturday, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Friday.
Straight-line winds from severe thunderstorms could pack gusts up to 60 mph in Rock Hill and southern Mecklenburg County just before sunrise, meteorologist Rodney Hinson of the NWS office in Greer, S.C., told The Charlotte Observer at 2 p.m. Friday.
Some of the gusts could be as intense and damaging as those of a weak tornado, he said.
Gusts up to 40 mph are expected after daybreak and throughout the morning and afternoon in the Charlotte metro area, according to Hinson.
Winds that strong and prolonged typically delay flights because landings have to be spaced out more, meaning fewer landings per hour. Winds will be driven by a cold front that’s expected to cross the Carolinas and northeast Georgia Friday night, Hinson said.
The cold front will “increase the chance for thunderstorm development” in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, according to a hazardous weather outlook bulletin issued by the Greer office just before 5 a.m. Friday. “The main threat with these storms will be damaging straight-line winds.”
Expect “widespread flight restrictions,” according to the NWS Greer office.
Here comes the rain
Charlotte has a 100% chance of rain early Saturday and a 70% chance all day, according to the NWS forecast at 3 p.m. Friday.
Gusts are predicted to drop to 22 mph by Saturday night, when the rains are forecast to leave the area, the NWS forecast shows.
A high of only 47 is expected Saturday, before temperatures are forecast to gradually climb into the mid-60s by Tuesday, according to the NWS.
Sunday should be sunny with a high of 51; Monday mostly sunny with a high of 63; and Tuesday partly sunny with the high expected to reach 66, the forecast shows.
Snow in the mountains
The same storm system could dump up to 6 inches of snow on higher elevations in the N.C. mountains, including Roan Mountain and the town of Beech Mountain, Hinson said.
Beech Mountain, elevation 5,500 feet, lies in both Avery and Watauga counties.
Roan Mountain, 6,285 feet high, straddles the NC-Tennessee line in Pisgah National Forest.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 3:55 PM.